Ella Enchanted: Continued
by Dincristiel
Summary: Two years after their marriage, Char and Ella are living a happy life...until Ella is kidnapped by Char's enemy and must find a way to save Kyrria and herself.
1. My life

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Gail Carson Levine's "Ella Enchanted" except the ones that I make up for this story.

Authors note: I thought about putting this into chapters, but it gets annoying going from page to page, so I made it into one long story. 

It's been two years since their wedding, and Ella lives happily with Char in Kyrria. They have a son named Namian who is only two months old (before those of you who know where I got the name "Namian" write to tell me, I know where I got it too. Leave me alone) I tried not to make this into a lovey-dovey romance between Ella and Char, but they _are_ married. What would I have them do? Ignore each other? That _would _make an interesting plot, but I'll let someone else steal it. Please R&R, I'd love to know what you think! 

P.S. When you get to "the four men" think of them with British accents. It makes more sense.

~*~CHAPTER ONE~*~

My life was heaven.

It had been two years since I had been rid of that awful curse, two years since Char had swept me in his arms and taken me away from my slavery, from Hattie and her mother, from my pain.

Now things were different. Everywhere I went people bowed and respected me. And I was never given an order or forced to scrub halls. It wasn't hard getting used to my new life.

Char and I had a son not long ago.

He had Char's handsome looks, but he had my eyes. Char had sat on my bed and waited patiently while I gazed at my newborn son. 

"What shall we call him?" He asked.

I looked at my child, his tiny hands gripped my finger. It was a tight grasp for a infant his size.

"He's strong," I finally said, " We should call him Namian. It means strength."

"It suits him," replied Char, "He probably gets it from you." He kissed my forehead and I laughed. The labor had been worth the tiny bundle that I held in my arms now. I couldn't have been happier.

All of the courtiers wanted to see the little prince. Father, Mandy, Areidia, and the King and Queen had also stopped by to see him. I was even able convince Char to invite Hattie to come and see Namian. But I had invited her only because I wanted to be rid of the tension between her and me once and for all.

 When she arrived I was almost in shock by the look of her. She had gained more weight. Her slumped shoulders made her look almost like an old woman. I could still tell that she hated me, more than ever. But she remained polite and distant, especially from Char. We showed her Namian's nursery. She looked at Namian, and then at us, holding hands.

"He's….nice," Hattie finally muttered. She wouldn't look at me.

"Thank you," relied Char. I could tell that he was uncomfortable with Hattie in the room, but I squeezed his hand.

"Is this the baby's room?" She asked. An odd question.

"Yes," I said. She would be leaving soon. The tension in the room was killing me, I couldn't take it anymore. 

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" I added.

Char squeezed my hand and gave me a look. But I couldn't take it back now. 

Hattie's face changed, her plastered on smile that I knew all too well was on her face.

"I'd be honored, your highness, but I have other plans," her fake sweet tone had returned also, " thank you for inviting me, your baby is lovely!" She smiled at Char, who did not smile back.

After Hattie left, Char gave me a bizarre look.

"What?" I asked.

"You invited her to dinner."

"Sorry Char, I just couldn't stand her hatred towards me. I don't want to be reminded any more of my past."

"I understand," he said. He kissed me and then kissed Namian's forehead.

"Come on," he swung me around, "_we_ still have dinner." I laughed as we walked down the hall together.

That night as I looked in my magic book, and there appeared a picture of Hattie leaving our castle. She had the oddest sort of smile on her face.

Two months later I had forgotten almost entirely about Hattie's visit. I kept busy by looking after Namian, and Char kept busy with affairs of state. But we always made time for each other. 

One night, the moon was full and clear. I lay in our bed asleep, Char's arm was wrapped around me. I awoke to faint crying from down the hall. It was Namian.

I lay still for awhile, hoping that Nola, Namian's nanny, might soothe him back to sleep. But the crying persisted, so I slowly began to move Char's arm, trying not to wake him. I was unsuccessful.

"What is it?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Namian's crying," I said softly as I slipped out of bed.

"Can Nola take care of it?"

"He's been crying for a while, I think he wants me. I'll come back soon."

Char nodded and fell back asleep. I put on my robe and grabbed my magic book, in case Namian wanted to look at the pictures. I walked silently down the hall towards his room. _Where's Nola_? I wondered.

I opened the door to Namian's room. It was dark, but Namian was crying hard and loud.

"Nola?" I called softly, there was no answer. 

I lit a candle near Namian's cradle and stroked his tiny face.

"Here, now. What's all this?" I cooed.

Suddenly I heard a strange voice from behind me, "Good evening, you're highness."

I turned quickly, there stood four men all dressed in ragged black clothing. Nola was tied to a chair, her mouth gagged.

"Who are you?" I demanded. I placed myself between the men and Namian.

"We just wanted to meet Kyrria's infamous princess, that's all." The man smirked. He had long hair and an accent I could not place.

I was too stunned and terrified to call out. A horrible thought came to my mind.

"If you touch my son I'll kill you!" I looked around desperately for a weapon. 

Long Hair laughed, "I'm not here for your son."

A tall, burly man with a scar on his face walked over to me and grabbed my arm. I fought but I couldn't get free. He put his hand over my mouth, but I was able to it pull off just in time to yell, "Char!"

"Let's get out of here!" One of the men said. Long Hair closed the door and shoved a wooden wardrobe in front of it. Scar let go of my mouth to bind my hands. I screamed.

"Somebody please help me!" I kicked and bit and scratched, mainly to get them away from Namian. One of the men finally put a dagger to my throat.

"Hush you!" He said. I could do nothing but let them take me.

I could hear the guards outside pounding on the door, but the obstacle Long Hair had set kept them out. All the men climbed out the window onto a rope. Scar held me by my waist while he also climbed down the rope. He put me on the horse, climbed on himself, and then the four men raced off with me. 

I looked behind me. The castle was almost out of sight now. The men led their horses through a corn field to avoid going through town. We flew over pastures and fences, until I finally saw the ocean up ahead.

I looked behind again, troops from the castle chased us, but they were far away. We arrived at the ocean and I saw a medium-sized boat tied to a rock that sat on the shore. The guards would never reach us in time! 

I was taken off the horse and placed in the boat, where Long Hair tied me to a post. The troops were getting closer. I could see now that Char was in front, leading the way.

Long Hair, Scar, and the other two men, hurriedly got in the boat and paddled hard. The boat moved further and further away from shore. By the time the troops reached the shoreline the boat was to far away for them to get to.

"Ella! I'll find you!" I heard Char holler. But all I could do now was cry as the boat was paddled into the fog. I could no longer see Kyrria's shores. The fog loomed all around us and I could barely see the moon.

~*~CHAPTER TWO~*~

After about an hour of paddling the four men finally stopped and rested against the sides of the boat. Long Hair lit a lamp and placed it in the middle so the light illuminated the entire boat. He smirked at me. 

"You must have many questions, your highness."

I said nothing, I only glared.

Scar spoke, "It's a shame she doesn't still have that fairy curse, then I'd make her talk!"

I couldn't hide my surprise. How could they have known about my curse?

"Ha!" cried one of the kidnappers, "That got your attention, eh?" The others laughed, I did not find it amusing.

"I'm Will," Long hair announced, he pointed to Scar and the rest," That's Bronk, Daggers (the one who had held the knife to my throat), and Top."

Top chuckled, "Evenin' majesty. Never met any lady-royals before."

What was this? Some kind of joke?

"What do you want with me?" I asked. They got a kick out of that.

"Oh ho! Now she speaks!" laughed Bronk, "I was beginin' to think that someone 'ad cut your tongue out."

Will smiled, "You are the honored guest of Will's bandits! Personal advisers and doers of dirty work to the King of Aoden."

Kyrria's enemy! "I'm hardly honored." 

Daggers spoke, "Watch yourself, majesty. You ain't exactly in the right situation to be impolite!" Two daggers hung from his belt, hence the name I assumed.

"What does the King want with me?"

"King Cyrin wasn't too pleased with the outcome of our last battle," replied Will," So he thought he might teach your little prince somethin' in the way of manners."

"So you're going to kill me?"

"We'll see," said Will, "The King gives us orders, we follow 'em. All we have to do now is take you back to Aoden and he'll decide what to do with you."

I remembered what they had said earlier, "How did you know of my curse?"

"Well, you are full of questions, aren't ya?" said Top. They all laughed.

Will smirked, "We'll just say a little birdie told us."

_Little birdie_?, I thought. Who else had known about my curse? There was only Char, Mandy and….Hattie! That traitor! She hadn't come to see our baby, she came to find out where Namian's room was so she could tell the bandits! This was her revenge for me ruining her life. Oh, I wanted to kill her!

Will stood up and untied me, "Here majesty, no point in using these now. But you mind your manners, you hear?"

I leaned against the side of the boat and rubbed my sore wrists. I noticed a book in Top's lap.

"What is this rubbish! It's all fairy tales! What you bring this for Bronk?"

"It was 'ers." Bronk pointed to me. Top threw the book at me. It was my magic book!

"You read it if ya like," said Daggers, "We gonna be 'ere all night."

It was extremely late by now, the moon was near the end of its journey across the sky, and the faint light of dawn was coming up from the east. All of the bandits were asleep except for Will, who steered the boat from the back.

I had crawled up to the front, where I could be somewhat alone. There was just enough light to read my book by. Perhaps it would show me a comforting picture of Char and his knights riding towards Aoden. But he might not even know where they've taken me!

There were no illustrations, but I did find an entry from his journal. It read:

They've taken her! Ella, my wife. She's gone! 

I had woken to Ella yelling my name, and I ran to Namian's room but the door wouldn't budge. And all the time I could hear her screaming! The guards tried to break down the door, but I was already on my way downstairs and to the stables to get my horse. I took several knights with me and went after them, but I couldn't get to her in time! She was already in a boat being paddled away. I called to her but I heard no answer.

When I returned to the castle father and mother were already outside waiting for me. Father was by now dressed in his military uniform and was questioning the guards. Mother held Namian in her arms, he was still crying, but he was safe! 

Father showed me something that he found in the nursery. A dark purple cloth with King Cyrin's crest on it.

My enemy from the south? He has taken my wife? To obtain revenge for our last skirmish no doubt. But even I did not think that he would sink so low. If he harms her I will kill him!

Writing this is my only comfort, tomorrow I shall send an emissary to King Cyrin and demand that he return Ella to me. I would rather go myself and give him a taste of my steel!

I shall not sleep tonight, but I don't know what I shall do. I hope she is safe.

Oh Char! A tear coursed down my cheek and fell on to the page. I closed my book and began to weep. My vision blurred and I couldn't see. I cried so hard that my arms began to shake.

"Here now, you're highness. You all right?"

I cleared my eyes and looked up, Will sat next to me.

I glared at him, "How do you think I am!?"

Will's mocking tone was gone now, "I hate to see lasses cry. Don't you worry miss, King Cyrin's just in one of his moods. Usually there's no telling what he might do. I'd say you'd be safe and sound back in your castle  in a few days once our king and your husband have a small hearsay."

Was he comforting me? Why?

"What do you mean, 'One of his moods'?"

"Well," he stretched his legs, "King Cyrin's a rather proud man. And our two country's have been fighting for quite a long time. When the King lost one of our largest battles to a boy, didn't make him to happy."

"So he's had me kidnapped to punish Char?"

"You got it."

I leaned back against the side of the boat. What kind of man is this King Cyrin?

"Why are you telling me these things?"

Will shrugged, "I dunno, I like you I suppose. Most maidens would cry and wail and beg for mercy, you didn't. I can see why that prince of yours married ya."

_More than you know_, I thought.  

"You kidnap royalty often?"

Will tossed me an apple and then took out one for himself, "As a matter of fact, you're my first. Most of my jobs normally handle gettin' rid of certain enemy's, if you know what I mean."

"So you've killed before?"

"It's a dirty business, your highness. But it's my skill and I'm good at it." He drew out a knife and cut off sections of the apple with it. 

I looked him over. He didn't seem so awful. A horrific job, perhaps, but I had met characters worse than him. 

"Ella," I finally said.

"Pardon?"

"Call me Ella."

Now he was the one with the surprise on his face, "You certainly are rare, majesty…I mean Ella. Most royalty that I've met would have me beaten for even starin' at them."

"Not so rare," I said, "Char's the same way."

"Char? Oh, your husband the prince! Didn't think he looked too bad, a bit young for running armies, but he doesn't do that bad a job."

"I'm glad he meets with your approval."

Will laughed, this time it was a real laugh. I laughed too, which astounded even me. 

"Sometimes I wonder about my King, don't know what he would want with you. Perhaps he needs a court jester."

"Then help me get back," I pleaded, "You know I have nothing to do with this matter. Take me back and I will see to it that my husband finds work for you."

"It's a temptin' offer, El," he stood up, "but I can't be changin' who I owe my allegiance to just like that." He snapped his fingers.

I tried to hide my discontent, but it must have shown. Will lowered himself until he was at eye level with me.

"But I can promise that I won't let any harm come to you." His tone was soft and gracious. I couldn't help but trust him.

Will stood again and pointed, "Aoden."

I turned and saw land in the distance. The land of Char's enemy, and where I would learn of my sentence.

Will kicked the other's awake.

"Wake up you dogs!," his mocking tone was back. He looked at me, "and don't let me hear ya disrespectin' the lady, she's alright." He winked at me.

~*~CHAPTER THREE~*~

Several knights waited on the shore. They helped pull in the boat and lifted me out. One of them started to bind my hands again until Will shouted out,

"No need for that, capt'n. She's a good lass. She won't be no trouble."

The knight let go of my hands and raised me up onto a horse, and climbed on behind me. Will, Bronk, Top, and Daggers got on their own horses.  

"See ya the castle, majesty," said Top.

The knights kicked their horses and galloped off, my knight included. It wasn't a long ride, in a short time I could see King Cyrin's castle in the distance.

It was different than my home. It was black and every thing was square and neat, not a soft edge or even a tree nearby. It looked miserable. And I knew that I would be miserable.

As I entered the castle I gazed at the great hall before me. It was also dark, only lit by the many candles that lined  the walls. But it was covered in tapestries depicting war scenes and quite a few of the king himself. One such picture showed the king, proud and noble, standing with one foot resting on a dead corpse. I shuddered.

We at last entered the throne room where King Cyrin sat. He seemed built like King Jerrold, but nowhere near as handsome. His beard was as black as night, with gray streaks running up and down it. His eyes were beady and looked like he had not slept in days. He was conversing with a gentleman who held a white flag in his left hand. He must have been the emissary that Char spoke of. The King grinned when he saw me.

"Well, well!," King Cyrin exclaimed, "right on time!"

He stepped down from his throne and circled me, looking me over I suppose. He finally stopped in front of me and grinned even wider.

"So you're the famous princess the Lady Hattie has told me so much about. Your legend precedes you."

I kept eye contact but said nothing. Even at the mention of Hattie's name I did not flinch. 

The king turned and head over to the emissary, who had bowed when he saw me enter.

"Get up man!" The king commanded. The Emissary did so but kept his head down in respect of me.

"It seems Prince Charmont has demanded that I return the Princess Ella at once. But he has made no bargain, simply a demand," the King chuckled, "how can I refuse an offer such as that?"  

He turned to the Emissary, apparently ignoring me altogether, "Here is _my_ demand. Prince Charmont and his father are to give me half of Kyrria's armies, crop produce, and half of Kyrria's wealth."

My head shot up. 

"If he does not comply within the week, I shall have the lady killed."

"No!" I shouted. I tried to take a step, but the guard restrained me, "you cannot ask him to give up these things! Half the people in Kyrria will starve!"

"Then he should have known better than to face me on the battle field!"

"But you cannot ask him to choose between me and his people!"

"Enough!" yelled the King. his face was red and there was anger in his eyes. To the Emissary his said, "Do I make myself clear?"

The Emissary nodded and left. 

The King took a deep breath and calmed himself, "Tell me," he asked, "which do you think that your husband will choose?"

"You might as well kill me now."

"On the contrary, I think your husband and his father will gladly give up these things rather than lose their beloved princess."

"Char---Charmont would never risk the lives of his people for only one, even if I am his wife."

"Oh he will, I always have my way."

"Get used to disappointment."

The King stood suddenly, "If you are wise, you will hold your tongue. Don't you dare contradict me again. Guards!"

The guards arrived and lined up in a neat row before King Cyrin.

"Take the lady to my dungeon and see that she stays there. We'll see in the morning if she learns something in the way of manners."

The guard grabbed my arm and forced me out of the room. I was led down several stairways until the rooms became so dark that I could barely see a foot in front of my face. The air was starting to smell extremely foul.

And that was where they threw me. Into a cell, set with only a steel bed and a stool. As soon as the guards left I wept hard. Where was Char?

~*~So ends the first part of the story. Let me know if you want me to continue!~*~


	2. Will, Top, Daggers, Bronk, and King Cyri...

Ahh, the much anticipated next two chapters of Ella Enchanted: Continued. 

Sorry about the first chapter being so brisk, I tried to make it longer but I seriously couldn't think of anything!

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own nothing blah blah blah……..

Ella Enchanted: Continued

Chapters Two and Three

It was dark in King Cyrin's dungeon. The only light that was provided for me was a small candle that sat on my stool. And it was near the end of its wick, which meant that I would soon be in total darkness.

 King Cyrin had imprisoned me in my cell earlier that morning, and now through my small prison window I could see that the sun had almost vanished completely beyond the horizon, bidding the moon to come out and glow in all its beauty. But I could not be cheered by the thought of it, all I could think of was Char.

Would Char come and rescue me? Most certainly King Cyrin would have him killed if he ever set foot in Aoden. But I knew Char, and he would find a way. I also knew that Aoden's borders had been heavily guarded since my arrival, King Cyrin was expecting Char to make the first move. 

Surly I couldn't escape myself. I had tried everything I could think of to be free from my cell, but found nothing. Why was I put in the middle of this? King Cyrin was taking Char's progress as a young leader personally, and only sought to punish Char by punishing Kyrria. Curse that wretched man!

Then I heard a familiar voice from the bars of my prison door.

"Here now El, you alright?"

I turned to see Will's grinning face. His ragged black clothes were gone now and instead he wore a brown cape with matching brown trousers and a white shirt. Some kind of uniform. His long hair was pulled back behind his head in a ponytail. He actually appeared to be quite a handsome man, when compared to his bandits of course.

"Sorry lass, about all this, didn't think it would be as bad as it is."

I smiled slightly, "It's not your fault Will, you were just following orders."

"I appreciate that El, I really do," said Will as he pulled something out from under his cape, "here, you left this in the boat."

He handed me my magic book, "Thank you Will!"

He chuckled, "Thought you might need some sort of comfort while your down here, I would."

He looked behind him," Well, guards comin' to get me. I'll see you later El." And he left.

I hurried over to my bed and sat the closest to the candle I could, flipping through the pages to find anything written by Char. Nothing. But I started flipping through again and found a letter from Mandy:

Dear Ella,

Your magic book was missing from your room, I am hoping that it's in your possession so that you may read this.

Oh my sweet! How I miss you! I learned of your capture not long after it happened. Char had come to my chambers and asked if I could use fairy magic to bring you back (and he looked quite prepared to command me to).

Understand Lady, I would bring you back if I could. Big magic or no. But I can do nothing if I don't know exactly where you are. Char says that this has all been arranged by King Cyrin! The Emissary that Char sent returned today and said that Cyrin is demanding more than half of Kyrria's wealth and armies or he'll---------I cannot pen it.

Char remained calm when he heard the demands, and conversed with King Jerrold afterwards. I'm so frightened! I don't know what he'll decide. I shall keep you informed if I can.

I love you so much, I shall watch after Namian for you.

Mandy

I missed her so! But I refused to cry, I had to keep my head clear.

I turned the page to find letters exchanged between Hattie and her sister Olive. Good, I needed some amusement to cheer me up:

Hattie,

I herd Ella was kidnapt. I also herd that we have to give up our money so she can liv. They cant tak my mony! I wont giv it to them!

Olive

Poor Olive, she still couldn't spell! The next letter was from Hattie,

My dearest sister,

I greive for Ella, our poor stepsister. She must be so frightened! But you mustn't worry Olive. No one is going to take your money. I believe that our gracious ruler shall do the right thing, even if it means giving up our fare princess. I shall miss her so.  I was always very fond of her, even though she never returned my kindness. Perhaps Charmont shall require my comfort after losing his beloved wife. I shall always be there for him, the poor man.

Your loving sister,

Hattie

Forget amusement, now I was physically sick! I wasn't surprised that she desired my death, but she still believed that she would be able to win Char after all the awful things she did. I wished that Char could read this somehow, he could use a good laugh right about now.

There was nothing left in my book, so I attempted to sleep on the steel bed. It took me hours before I could finally doze off. It was most likely the worst night of my life.


	3. Cyrin's plan

~*~*~

The next morning I awoke to someone pounding on my prison door, it was a servant carrying a dress.

"His majesty invites you to breakfast. He has also sent you something to wear." He showed me the dress.

I refused to accept that man's charity, "Tell King Cyrin that I prefer to stay here."

"It would be wise of you to go my lady, there's no telling what he might do with that temper of his."

My stomach rumbled loud, and I knew that if I didn't eat soon that I would pass out. I had faced the same hunger when I was traveling with Hattie to finishing school, but at least then I had my tonic. I had nothing now.

I agreed to go but I refused to wear the dress. 

"I shall go as I am," I stated and followed the servant up the many staircases to the King's dining room. When we arrived, the King was already seated at a long table enjoying his meal. He stood when I entered, frowning at my clothes.

"I trust you slept well?" He smirked.

I did not find it funny. I sat down at the opposite end of the table and said nothing.

He sat down, "Hunger taken your tongue as well?"

"I didn't expect you to entertain me."

"I may have had you kidnapped your highness but I'm not a barbarian."

"No?"

He frowned, "No. I prefer to think of you as my guest."

"I guest you keep in the dungeon?"

"If you want to put it that way."

A servant brought my meal. I hesitated, looking at my meal for any peculiarity.

"No worries, majesty. I didn't poison you. I need you alive for now. Eat."

I would never obey any command of his, "Interesting, I've lost my appetite."

I watched the anger flash over his eyes. But he took a deep breath,

"Then I shall see you tomorrow. I will have my guards confine you to the west hall of the castle. Really no point in forcing you back to your cell."

I was hurried out by the guards before I could say anything. They pushed me up several stairs and through hallways until finally thrusting me into a new room. I tried the door but I could hear it being locked from the outside. I tried the other doors and they were locked too. 

I began to investigate my new prison. It was a large room with deep red walls. The ceiling was high above my head, at least thirty feet. The room seemed as though a person had not occupied it for awhile, cobwebs and dust were everywhere. With its many chairs and mirrors on the wall, it must have been some sort of waiting room. It was even complete with a painting of the King himself, though much younger, riding into battle.

I walked over to a large window and looked out. I was up in a high room, there was no means of escape here. I would most certainly fall to my death. I looked out and saw that today was lovely, though it hardly seemed so to myself. There was a vast road from the castle to the town the was nearby. The capital city of Ledia, I had never before seen it. It resembled Frell in some ways, the houses and other buildings were built the same way as ours. But it was built on a hill and led down to the shores of the ocean. There were hardly any trees anywhere, except for a forest in the distance. But even that seemed to be lacking in the sufficient size of a forest. King Cyrin must have used all the wood for when he went into battle.

I turned away from the window and saw a rather large and heavy book that sat upon a table. I blew the dust off its cover and read the title: AODEN, THE HISTORY AND TRIUMPHS.

I sat down in one of the dusty chairs and opened the book. The beginning talked of Aoden's earliest kings and conquests. I skipped ahead until I found Cyrin's name and read. 

He had become king at the early age of 15. But as soon as he took the throne he took on a campaign to take over the country of Tanad, a small and weak country that had bordered Aoden. Cyrin won in only a few battles and preceded to expand his territory. One by one the smaller countries fell to him, making Aoden the second largest country in the world. Next to Kyrria. Cyrin's eyes had been set on Kyrria all along, but King Jerrold had resisted with powerful force and managed to keep Cyrin at bay. This turned out to be quite a shock to the young king for he had grown so used to winning. The two countries waged in small battles every once in a while but King Jerrold managed to keep Kyrria and Aoden from going to war. 

There was no mention of Char because the book ended at when King Cyrin turned 27, long before Char was even born. It mentioned though that at that age Cyrin had taken a wife and had a daughter, but the two both died of an unknown disease a few years later and he was left with no heir.

I closed the book and set it back on the table. Cyrin did not only love war, he craved it. He craved violence and the suffering of others, which didn't bother him in the least when it came to the idea taking my life. It was so simple! He would weaken Kyrria by taking half of its wealth and then he would conquer it. One dead princess did not matter to him, he would find some other way of taking Kyrria. Therefore punishing Char for his "impertinence" on the battle field while at the same time adding to his kingdom.

I shoved the book off the table in a rage, and then tore the pages out and flung them across the room. He was not going to have his way! Not while I still drew breath! I had to get out of there and find Char.

I paced back and forth in the room, thinking. Hours passed, and I could think of nothing. If I stole the keys somehow from the guard of my cell Cyrin would find out and I would be done for. I went over several possibilities, but all I could do was come to the conclusion that I couldn't fight my way out, I couldn't escape without Cyrin's knowledge and I couldn't do anything!

Dusk fell, and I was going to pass out any moment from hunger. For the first time in my life I actually missed the taste of Mandy's tonic.

There was a knock on my door. I could hear keys rattling as the door was being unlocked. Brock's head popped into view.

"Evenin majesty, Will sent you these." He handed me a bag which I opened and found four large dinner rolls.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"I also wanted to 'pologize 'bout the other night. Hope I didn't 'urt you or Nothin'. Will told us that you were alright. We believe 'im ya know."

"Thank you, I don't blame you for what you did."

"We are gra'eful, all of us. Will sent me to take you back to your cell, said it might be nicer than walking back with a guard."

I knew I could make a break for it if I wanted to with him escorting me, but after he had done his " 'pologizing"  I didn't want him in any trouble. Not with Cyrin's temper.

We walked back in silence. Brock seemed more like a gentle giant than an ogre, perhaps he was related to one. I had never seen a man his size before. 

I came to my cell and thanked Bronk for escorting me. He seemed to blush as he bowed and left.

I quickly ate my dinner rolls with satisfaction. I felt better. I spied my magic book beside me and I picked it up and opened it. Char had written in his journal again,

What am I going to do? 

The Emissary arrived this morning and told me King Cyrin's demands. I tried to remain calm but I felt as though I was about to fly apart any second. King Cyrin demands that I give to him half of Kyrria's wealth and armies or he will kill her! I barely had the strength to write that awful sentence.

The Emissary also informed me that Ella had arrived while he was talking with Cyrin. He told me that she seemed alright and very aggressive. My Ella!

I have now but four days to comply. Every fiber within my being is telling me to spare her life, no matter what the cost. But I cannot save a life while others shall be lost. Even father knows not what to do.

I wish I could see her face. Even if I couldn't speak to her. Namian cries endlessly now, calling for his mother. Even when I hold him I cannot stop his wails. He will not be motherless!

I shall try to sleep now, but I do not think that I will be very successful.

I felt a horrible pain in my heart. I missed him terribly, but I must have been cried out by now, because my eyes were still dry. I flipped the pages and found a note from Will to Bronk,

Bronk,

After you have escorted the lady back to her cell, find Top and Daggers and meet me in my chambers. I must discuss something with you. 

Will

It was odd, but I was too tired to think about it now. I lay on my bed and managed to fall asleep. It would be only a few hours before I would wake again, this time it was to someone shaking me who was not a servant, and quite unexpected.

~*~*~*

Like the story? Shall I continue? I love the reviews! Send me more!


	4. The Escape

Authors Note: I'm glad I've been keeping you in suspense! I've had this idea ever since I first read the book five years ago. So glad you like it. Oh, something screwed up with my computer and so the format is a little weird. I apologize in advance.

Disclaimer: I own nothing…blah freakin' blah!

"El! El, wake up!" The shaking persisted.

I didn't want to. It had taken me so long to get to sleep, who knew when I would be able to again. I had been dreaming that I was back home with Char and Namian. Why should I wake up and ruin such a perfect dream?

"El? Ella! You're fairy tale book's on fire!"

Instantly I bolted upright and looked at the stool. My magic book lay there, unharmed. I looked over to Will, Top, Daggers, and Bronk, who stood there in my cell. All were dressed in black capes. On Will's back he had a bow and arrows, and each of the bandits had some kind of sack tied around their waists. Will stood there with his arms crossed.

"Will, you rat! Don't frighten me like that!"

The smirk had returned, "It woke you up, didn't it?"

Why were they here? "What is all this?"

Will handed me a black cloak, "We're gettin' you out of here. I'll explain on the way. Come on."

I was stunned, but I put the cloak on, grabbed my magic book, and followed the four out of my cell. Will lit a torch and lead 

the way, but instead of taking the stairs that the guards would use to take me to my cell, Will turned into a long corridor that I had 

never noticed before. It seemed to run the length of the entire castle.

"King's escape route," Will commented, "he's never used it before, but it's always here in case the castle's raided. Only Cyrin,

the capt'n of the guards and I know about it."

I stopped suddenly, "I can't let you do this. If Cyrin found out it was you he would have you all put to death."

Will walked over to me, "Remember in the boat, when you offered to find me work? I thought I might take you up on that offer." He 

smiled.

"Changing your allegiance just like that?" I snapped my fingers, Will chuckled and went back to the head of the group.

We were off again, walking down the long corridor with both Will and Bronk in front of me and Top and Daggers behind me.

It took several minutes before we reached the end of the hall, where there was a sudden drop.

"Oh yeah," said Will, "forgot that we might have to do a little swimming. Hope you all don't mind."

"I can't swim!" exclaimed Bronk.

I suppressed a laugh. 

"Don't worry about it Bronk, you can just walk," said Will reassuringly. He hopped into the drop and I heard a splash.

"Come on El, I'll catch you," I heard Will call.

I looked down the drop and saw Will about six feet below me, the water was up to his shoulders. Seeing that Will was a few 

inches taller than me, I knew that the water would be touching my chin at least.

I jumped, Will caught me and set me down and then called for the others to jump as well. The water was freezing! I held up 

my magic book to keep it dry, but I knew it wouldn't get wet anyway, since it _was_ a magic book.

The other three followed, Bronk making the biggest splash of all. The water only went up to his chest.

"Watch it Bronk," said Top, "You'll put out Will's torch!"

We swam up to an archway that led outside to a lake that was by the castle. The moon was high up in the sky and its silvery beams illuminated the castle and the town.

Will turned to us and put his finger to his lips to tell us to be quiet. He then stuck his torch underwater to snuff it out and 

swam quietly. We followed, trying not to make any splashes or loud noises. I looked at the castle and noticed the entry was close by.

The two guards that stood there took no notice of us. Will led us around the castle wall until we were out of their sight and then 

climbed out of the lake. Turning to help me out as well.

"No unnecessary talk," Will whispered to us, "I'm afraid we'll have to go on foot, horses make to much noise at a time like 

this."

We crept over to one of the only trees on the grounds and hid behind it. Will spoke in a whisper again,

"If that king of ours hadn't cut down all those trees we might have had a little more cover, but we're going to have to make a 

break for the forest. When I say, follow me and run as fast as you can but try to make as little noise as possible. Understand?"

We all nodded. Will crept out from the shadow of the tree and looked around. He tiptoed a few more paces and looked around

again. Then he turned and beckoned us to follow him.

We ran straight towards forest as fast as we could. My wet clothes were heavy and slowed me down, but I gathered up all my strength and ran harder and faster. The only noise we made was the sound of the grass crunching beneath our feet and the flapping of

our clothes, which we could not help. The forest slowly drew nearer and nearer until we finally entered it, fatigued and worn out. When 

we finally stopped I nearly collapsed in exhaustion. 

We all stood behind the trees to catch our breath while Will watched, bow ready, to make sure that no one had sounded the 

alarm. I looked at the entrance to the castle. The two guards still stood there. Apparently they hadn't noticed our little sprint towards 

the woods. Perfect, but it would only be a few more hours until Cyrin would learn of my escape, and then all of Aoden would be looking

for us.

Will sighed and walked back over to us. 

"Well," said Will, his voice a little louder than a whisper, "The forest should provide some cover for us for a few hours. Once we

go in deeper we'll build a fire and get dried off. Then I'll explain everything." With that, he set off into the woods, and we followed.

~*~*~

After about an hour of walking, I began to shiver hard from the wetness of my clothes. Will read my mind and stopped in a 

clearing to gather firewood. We all soon joined in to help and threw what we found into a pile in the middle. Once we had enough wood,

Will turned to Daggers,

"Daggers," said Will, "If you would be so kind."

"Right-o," replied Daggers. He reached into his cape pocket and brought out a small rock about the size of a fist. He crouched

by the fire, then used one of his daggers and struck the rock with it until sparks began to fly onto the pile. I had heard of this technique, though I had never before done it myself. It didn't take long for the pile to catch on fire. I then hung my cape on a branch to dry.

We sat around the fire with our hands extended towards it to keep warm. I sat on a large rock, Will and Top leaned against a 

tree, while Daggers and Bronk sat on a log. All was silent for a while until I spoke up.

"What is this all about?"

Will sat up, "I suppose now would be a good time to explain. What happened was the King had called me to his chambers 

right after he had you locked in the west side of the castle. Told me it was urgent, so I obeyed and went with him. When we got to his

room he told me the urgent message: that I was going to have the honor of….well….doin' away with you."

I shuddered.

"Oh, it gets even better. Apparently Cyrin had also decided that he was going to cut your sentence short and have you "done 

away with" tomorrow evenin, and your husband wasn't to find out until he had given Cyrin his demands."

"He was going to kill me anyway."

"Yes, either because he had it in mind all along or he was going to do it out of pure annoyance. You haven't exactly been very cooperative with him."

"Animal," I remarked.

"Exactly El, I told my bandits and we decided that we were fed up with this. And here we are."

"We may kill," said Top, "but we still got 'earts."

"What the King is doin' ain't right," said Bronk, "ya can't cheat people out a their land, it ain't 'onorable."

"I don't know what to say," an unexpected tear coursed down my cheek, "I thought for sure that my life was over."

"Not while we still have a say in it," Will smiled.

I smiled back, "You will be rewarded for this, all of you." We sat in silence for a while, taking in the situation.

"I'm 'ungry," said Top, he rubbed his stomach for emphasis.

Will reached into a bag that hung at his side and tossed us each a dinner roll.

"Enjoy it while you can, it will take us at least a week to get out of Aoden and I don't have enough food for that long a time."

We ate in silence for awhile, except for Bronk, who ate his entire dinner roll in one bite. But he sat quietly and waited for us to

 finish. That is, until he had a question.

"Say Will, what about ogres? I've 'eard they live in woods like these."

Ahh, my specialty! I laughed, "Leave the ogres to me."

Startled, everyone looked at me, I couldn't help but smile.

"Really?" said Will sarcastically, "and why should we do that?"

"If we run into one you'll see, I don't think that bow will be very efficient."

Will looked at his bow and then to me, apparently not believing what he heard, "Whatever you say, your majesty. But I 

suggest that if you see an ogre you do what we do and you run." He smirked and I heard him mumble to himself, "Women!" If we ever 

ran into an ogre I would have him eating his words for the rest of the journey. 

Then a thought came to me, "I need to contact Char."

"Pardon?" said Will.

"Char still thinks that I am in Cyrin's dungeon, yes? What if he and King Jerrold give in to Cyrin's demands before I get back 

home? I need to send him a letter or something."

"She's right," said Daggers.

"But that produces a problem," said Will, "the nearest town is Manan which is about ten miles from here. By the time we 

reach it Cyrin will know of your escape and everyone will be looking for you. You will either be caught or your letter will be intercepted."

That _was_ a problem. I rested my head on my hands and thought. I was royalty, if I showed my face in town someone would 

surly recognize me, and any letter being sent to Kyrria would most certainly be read. I looked over to the bandits, who appeared to be thinking also. Then Top's head popped up.

"What about the elves?"

"What about them?" asked Will.

"They have a different mail route then humans do, they can help us."

"Where's the nearest Elf town?" asked Will, the idea sinking in.

"It's a few miles past Manan, but we can stay in these woods and reach them without bein' noticed."

"Alright, will head for the elf town. El will send her letter and have her husband meet us somewhere, then we'll be free at last."

The fire was beginning to flicker, and we all settled down to sleep. the moon had nearly finished its track across the sky and 

we would be getting up soon. Then the real chase would begin.

Authors Note: Dum dum dum! I shall add more chapters later. Keep sending me reviews!


	5. The Elves

Welcome to the next chapter. I realized that I forgot to describe what Top and Daggers look like! Sorry, you're just gonna have to use your imagination. I know you're eager to read so I'll just shut up now. 

Disclaimer: *sigh* must I do this again…..?

I awoke with my arms wrapped tight around my magic book. The sun's beams had broken through the tree leaves and rested on the forest floor. Squirrels chattered nearby and birds sang from high above. I sat up straight and brushed myself off.

The bandits were still asleep. Bronk slept on his back while Daggers and Top used him for a pillow. Will stood by the trunk of a tree, bow and arrow at his side, alert and watching for any kind of movement in the trees. He smiled at me when he saw I was awake.

"Good morning, sleep well?"

I stood and brushed off the rest of my nightgown, "Better than on that steel death trap they have the nerve to call a bed."

"You should consider yourself lucky," grinned Will, "Cyrin gave you the royal suite compared to the other cells in his dungeon."

"I'd hate to see how he would treat a thief."

Will motioned towards his bandits, changing the subject, "They can sleep through anything. I usually have to kick 'em to wake 'em up. There could be a hundred ogres running straight at them and they wouldn't know it 'til they got stepped on. Sometimes I wish I could sleep so easily." The bandits snored loud but peacefully nearby. Top's foot twitched a little but he slept on.

"You didn't sleep at all last night?"

"I'd rather lose one night's sleep than wake up to the face of a knight or an ogre or worse." It made sense.

Will looked up at the sun briefly, "It should be around eight o'clock by now. I'm afraid our secret's out. Better get moving and find the elf town." He walked over to his bandits to "kick them awake" while I took my cape off the branch from which it hung. It was dry by now, so I put it on. 

"Mum?" said the half-asleep Daggers as Will kicked him awake. I giggled, sat down on my rock and opened my book. The first page was an illustration of Char.

He was in the throne room, standing in his formal stance. Feet apart, hands behind his back. His advisors stood around him, talking to him. Char's face was serious as he listened. Even though I couldn't hear the conversation, I knew the advisors all too well and knew what they were saying, "Save Kyrria. What's one life compared to thousands?" Sometimes I wished that Char would find some new advisors. 

After tracing Char's outline for a few minutes I turned the page to another illustration. This time not of Char but of King Cyrin, riding his horse and leading a group of knights from the castle. He was coming to look for us himself!

"Will," I motioned him to come over, which he did ,"look at this." I pointed to the illustration.

"Here now, what's this?" He wondered aloud. I remembered that he only thought it was a normal book and explained it to him

"Cyrin's comin' himself?" said Will after understanding my explanation, "hey Bronk! The King himself is looking for us."

"Really?" asked Daggers.

"Didn' think we were _that_ important to 'im," said Top.

"It's 'cause we got 'er," Bronk pointed to me. 

"Shouldn't we leave?" I asked, closing my magic book and standing.

"I suppose we should," said Will. He picked up his sack of food and tied it around his waist, "Here now, boys. Time to get movin'." We picked up everything as best we could and left our camp. Will lead the way.

~*~*~

We maneuvered through the trees and skipped over rocks. For a while Daggers and Top had a contest to see who could find the largest rock and jump over it, and we all enjoyed watching that for a while. A few hours later we began to teach each other songs to pass the time. I taught them songs of Kyrria and they taught me songs of Aoden. My favorite song was an Aodish drinking song, which Will told me that all men in Aoden know by heart. He began to sing it and his bandits joined in:

I've got my ale and the night is long,

so let's make it last a little longer,

And I'll go home with a merry song

and dream 'til the day is over.

 Now, I've got my friends and I've got my lass,

and to me life couldn't be sweeter,

but give me an ale and merry song

and I'll go home to the wheater!

There were several more verses that Will sang but I couldn't remember them. Bronk later told me that a "wheater" is an Aodish term for a wheat field. We laughed and joked for several miles without rest, but we didn't need any. We were in high spirits.

Before long Will led us to the outskirts of the forest, where we could see a small town in the distance.

"There's Manan. It's quite lovely this time of year, but sadly you'll never see it El," he smirked at me. It looked like a toy village, and one would have believed it if there weren't people moving around. Everything was neat and organized. Every roof was blue and all the houses and buildings were painted white. It reminded me of a toy in Namian's nursery.

"The Elf village ain't far from 'ere," said Top, "it should be only 'bout two miles."

"Alright then, let's go." Will pulled out his bow and prepared it with an arrow. He noticed me looking at him strangely, "just in case there are any knights around, that's all."

"Put it away when we get to the village," I instructed, "elves are not one to tease with things like that."

"First ogres and now elves," Top said to Bronk. Did they not believe that royalty were capable of understanding the outside world. I would show them soon enough.

I walked on and the others followed. Will sang again, and the others joined him. This time it was a song that they had not taught me, about a man who gets his friends lost but insists that he knows where he's going. It ended with his friends gagging his mouth so he couldn't speak and finding their own way home. A funny song that was very long, and by the time they had finished I noticed something moving behind the trees.

I halted and held my hand up to stop the others, "Wait, I see something."

The bandits stopped right away and barely moved. Will held up his bow, ready to fire, but I shook my head and motioned for him to put it away. Which he did reluctantly. I walked forward, watching for any movement. A small tree shook and I noticed a pair of eyes watching us through a bush.

"Kummeck ims powd," I called. The eyes blinked but did not move.

I tried again, "Dok ench nel stav, Dok yest mantae."("I am no enemy, I seek help.")

The eyes moved upward slowly and I saw that they belonged to an elf child. He looked at me and then at the bandits.

"Aff ench poel?" he asked.

"Dok ench Ella, capantar hux Kyrria. Du shanii hux Slannen" ("I am Ella, princess of Kyrria. A friend of Slannen")

The child's expression instantly brightened, showing off his green teeth.

"Slannen! Mee lu tep!" 

He was here! My good friend! He could convince the elves to help us. I smiled and nodded to the child, who took my hand and beckoned for the bandits to come. We walked to the gate of the village and he called up to the guard.

"Du shanii hux Slannen lu tep! Glaf nu ben!

The guard nodded and opened the gate. The doors opened wide to a world completely submersed in green, from the elves to their houses to the grassy floor. Some of the houses were built inside the many trees in the village, with stairs twisting up around them until they reached the very top, which the elves used as watch towers. There seemed to be some kind of trading market going on in the middle of the town, because all of the town seemed to be there buying and selling. That is, until they noticed us, then all came to a complete stop.

The little elf let go of my hand and ran to one of the tree-houses and called inside. Then I noticed the familiar face of Slannen popping out of the door. He saw me and ran to hug me.

"Ella! What are you doing here?" asked Slannen after we had finished our embrace.

"I'll explain inside," I said motioning towards the tree that he had come out of. He nodded and beckoned for the bandits to follow. 

"Jar tes." he called to the stunned observers, reassuring them that these strangers were friends of his. They all relaxed and the trading began once again.

"I come here every year for the trading fair," Slannen explained when he closed the door, "but what are you doing here?"

I described my situation to him, explaining Cyrin's plan and who Will and his bandits were. When I was done Slannen leaned back in his chair, taking in what I had said. He took a deep breath and said,

"I'm glad you came to here instead of Manan, Cyrin and his knights will surly be there by now. He pays no attention to the elves that live in his country, so they run things their own way. He won't think to come here. Doesn't believe elves and humans get along."

I remembered Will's alertness with his bow and gave him an I-told-you-so look, his expression changed to annoyance which told me that he also remembered.

I turned to Slannen, "I need to send a message to Char. Can you help me?"

"Yes," replied Slannen, "the mail carrier leaves this evening and Cyrin's guards never bother him. He'll be able to get your message to Char." He stood and rummaged through a drawer until he produced a piece of paper and a pen. He set them before me on the table.

I nodded a thank you and picked up the pen,  despite my anxiousness to tell him everything on my mind I kept the letter short.

Char,

I am well and safe, thanks to a few comrades who helped me escape. Meet me at Kyrria's border by the mail carrier's route in three days. King Cyrin knows of my escape and is pursuing me and four others who are guiding me. Bring several knights with you.

Love,

    Ella

I handed the letter to Slannen which he placed in an envelope. The elves mail route was shorter than Cyrin's mail route, so the letter would reach Char by tomorrow, hopefully.

 Will looked like he was ready to leave but Slannen stopped him.

"You must stay as our guests. It would be better if you started again in the morning."

Will looked at me and I nodded. 

"Is there meals included?" asked Top.

Slannen laughed, "Of course."

"Well we don't wanna be 'mpolite," exclaimed Daggers, who looked rather hungry himself.

"I suppose it would be alright," said Will. He still seemed weary of the elves, but I placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

~*~*~

After Slannen explained to the village who we were, or more importantly who Iwas, the village welcomed us gladly and invited us to sit down to dinner.

It was the village custom to have all meals together, so everyone was seated around a rather long wooden table at the other side of the town.

At first the bandits kept silent, still cautious of them. But the elves around them coaxed them into conversations while Slannen and I translated for them, and soon Will and the rest of the bandits were laughing and talking along with us. Our supper was a type of potato soup with carrots and chopped celery, an elven favorite. 

After the supper most of the town headed off to their houses to sleep, the mothers taking their children to the village nursery. And we were shown our hammocks.  After looking in my book and finding nothing, I drifted off to sleep. But only after I caught a glimpse of the mail carrier leaving town on his pony.

*A/N: I shall get more chapters to you soon! Be patient my dear friends*


	6. My specialty

Sorry I took so long with the next chapter, I was on vacation.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, okay!  :^)

The next morning the elves packed four ponies with enough food to last us through the rest of the journey. There would have been five ponies had Bronk been light enough to fit on one, but he seemed content in walking. This suited all of us just fine since we didn't have to refuse the ponies and walk with him. I was quite fed up with walking. 

I was also given a green dress to wear in exchange for my tattered nightgown, which was beginning to fall apart. I thanked them immensely, turning to leave until Slannen stopped us.

"We have gifts for you, especially for the bandits. It's a token of thanks for rescuing Ella."

Slannen handed Bronk the first gift, a pillow. One that was large enough to fit his head so he could lay comfortably on the ground. At first I was afraid that he had expected something better, until I saw that he was nearly in tears.

"They could never find any that were big enough for me at 'ome," he sniffed, feeling the pillow and fluffing it.

To Daggers Slannen gave his next gift, a belt complete with elfian designs and two slots for his knives. He excepted it gratefully, replacing his old belt with his new one.

Top received a hand carved bowl, beautifully decorated in the form of leaves intertwined together.

"Can never 'ave to many of these," he beamed, looking it over.

To me Slannen gave a sack that tied around my waist to keep my book in. He also handed me a sculpture. 

"For you and for Char," he said.

The sculpture was a small clock that was about the size of my two fists. Just underneath the face of the clock there was carved a maiden riding on her horse. Galloping off to some unknown destination, I could hear the panting of the horse. I could feel the unease of the maiden as she pushed her horse, faster and faster, to get back to her home. How appropriate . 

Along the edges of the clock were woven leaves and flowers. I smiled with pleasure

"Agulen?" I asked. Slannen nodded.

"I was holding this back for a while, I didn't want to trade it. Now it has found its true owner." I embraced him, how could anyone fear these people? They were so giving.

Lastly, Slannen gave to Will a sword. Its sheath was dark blue with silver designs that matched the haft. Will took it and handled it with great care, bowing to Slannen. 

"Indeed, the elves of Aoden are greatly misunderstood," announced Will, "Never before have I seen with such a kind and admirable people." All the elves clapped with their approval of him. Will smiled, as did the rest of us.

"There is a small travelers road that is near the forest. It is rarely traveled and it will take you straight to the border. You should arrive in two days," said Slannen.

"What 'bout ogres?" asked Bronk nervously.

"They keep close to their fens this time of the year," explained Will, "If we see one, we know what to do."

Sure he did.

"We 'ad best get goin'." said Top, getting on his pony, "or we'll get there in four days instead of three."

After one last hug, I mounted my pony. 

"Vib ol pess waddo," said Slannen.

"Stay in the shade," I replied in Kyrrian. We all waved to the entire village, who had been standing there to see us off. They returned the motion.

The little elf who had shown us into the village the evening before ran up to my pony. I looked down.

"Goo-bye Ella," he said in shaky Kyrrian. I smiled and he smiled back, revealing deep green dimples in his cheeks. I would have to remember this village and come back again, if Cyrin didn't find me first.

Will was the first to pass through the gates. And we all followed. Gradually the grassy green village began to pass out of sight, and we headed for the travelers road.

~*~*~

"I'll never think of elves the same way again," commented Bronk.

"What did you think of them before?" I asked. 

"We were brought up thinking that humans and elves should live in their separate worlds," Will informed me, "and that the elves despised us and would do whatever possible to keep us away."

What an odd thing to think. 

"Yeah," said Top, "I thought Kyrria was crazy when I 'eard that you traded with them."

"All elves are friends of the courts in Kyrria," I told them, "I have never heard of them being shunned before."

The bandits all looked at each other as if I had spoken something forbidden. Will broke the silence.

"How is it that you know elfian?" he asked. A question that had obviously been on his mind for a long time.

"I know every language in Kyrria that matters, from gnomish to Abdegi," I said, "it's a skill of mine."

"Out of many," Will smirked, he was either impressed or didn't believe me.

We rode on for a while in silence. Will hummed an Aodish tune, one that he had taught me before, about an ogre who ate vegetables. The rest of the bandits and I remained noiseless, except for the rhythmic plodding of our ponies hooves on the forest ground as we maneuvered them through the trees. The trees had become so big that they nearly blocked out all of the sunlight, creating a roof high above our heads. Here and there a beam would manage to break through the covering and touch the forest floor. And that was all we saw for two miles, more and more forest.

Will finally decided to stop and give the ponies a rest . He tied them to a low tree branch, noticing my anxiousness to move on.

"No worries," he told me, leaning against a tree, "they need to rest for a few minutes. We've been traveling all day."

I nodded. Looking around me, I noticed a berry bush nearby.

"Hungry, Top?" I asked though I knew the answer. He nodded vigorously.

"I noticed a berry bush over there, would anyone like some?"

Again the enthusiastic nodding, this time from all four of them.

I giggled and walked over to the bush, which sat behind a tree with a large trunk. Its berries were large and ripe, the perfect snack on a long journey. 

Suddenly I halted. 

What was that? It sounded like the rustling of leaves. I turned around rapidly and looked over to Will. He leaned on the tree as he had before, talking with Bronk. Everything seemed normal, but I knew that it wasn't. I looked this way and that, but when I saw nothing I decided to shrug it off as just edginess. I turned and started gathering berries in my skirt, which I held out as a basket.

Again the noise. I turned and looked at Will, who had noticed it too this time and unsheathed his sword. The bandits grew dead silent. Will remained alert and looked prepared to strike at anything.

I had already concealed myself behind the large tree. A minute passed like an hour, but the noise was gone. I heard no more rustling.

"What is it Will?" I heard Daggers ask.

"I thought I heard…" Will paused, "it's probably nothing." He sheathed his sword. Going back to the conversation that they had earlier. Soon things became noisy again, Bronk and Top laughing while Will made jokes. Daggers began to carve a branch with one of his knives. 

But my mind and my muscles refused to relax. I stayed behind the tree, deciding to wait a few more minutes. Will and the others didn't seem to notice that I hadn't returned. Some guides they turned out to be.

Then I heard it. The voice that I had anticipated all the while. It was smooth and slithery, directed towards Will and the bandits.

"Here now, gentlemen," it called out softly, "why do you travel with weapons? This is a safe forest, you should leave them behind you."

Cautiously I looked around the trunk of my tree. Ogres! Four of them. Three big ones and one little one, all beaming at the fabulous feast they had found. They especially drooled when they saw Bronk and the ponies. Will's hand became unsteady, and the sword began to shake. An effort to resist. But the ogre smiled.

"We are your friends, and yet you offend me with that weapon? You should put it down on the ground." 

I saw Will taking his sword and placing it on the ground, Daggers followed. All the bandits had given in easily, but the ogres had not yet spotted me.

"Come with us," one of the ogres, his voice was as sweet as syrup, "we shall take you to wherever you need to go and see to it that no harm comes to you."

I fought hard to concentrate. I had encountered ogres only once more after Char and I were married, and I could manage to keep myself from going under their spell, so long as the ogres oily speech was not directed at me. As soon as I could get my mind clear I could save Will and the others, but the ogres talk was tugging at my wits. I told myself to think of my first ogre, the one who had tried to force me to bring him a gnome child, and almost being consumed until Char had stopped me. The clouds in my head began to clear. I thought about the second time, when an entire band of ogres had surrounded me, and I had to imitate them in order to save my life. I could think freely now.

I looked back at the scene. The ogres were beginning to leave and the bandits followed. It was now or never.

"Ogre friends!" I called in Ogrese, making sure to coat my throat with enough sweetness and oil.

The ogres stopped and turned towards my voice. Will and the bandits followed. I had emerged from my hiding place.

"Why do you pick up these ragged, half starved travelers?" I asked them sweetly, "I know of a much bigger and better meal you could have."

The ogres stared at me, trying to figure out what I was saying, but I could tell that my magic was working on them.

"But," one of the ogres replied in Ogrese, "we're hungry. We want food now."

"What are you talking about?" I asked them in a mother-like tone, "you've just eaten."

"We have?" asked the little ogre. He looked down at his stomach, checking to make sure it _was_ full.

"Of course you did, I just saw you," I explained, "you were eating several large cows and a baby giant. If you eat too much, you'll get sick."

"Oh," said the largest ogre, looking confused, "what do we do with them?" He pointed at the bandits standing there looking stupefied.

I made a sick face, "What would you want with them? They're just sticks! Especially that one." I pointed at Bronk.

The little ogre stepped away from Bronk, repulsed.

"I shall find more food for when you are hungry, if you go to sleep right now."

The ogres started to yawn and stretch out.  I lead them to an open area just a few meters away, where they lay down and fell asleep. This group was much easier to tame then SEEf's band, perhaps they were just more gullible in Aoden.

  I tip-toed back over to Will and looked up at him, still bewildered, and slapped him smartly across the face. To my shame I took pleasure in it, since he had not believed what I had told him earlier. 

The spell broke and Will shook his head.

"What…..?" he muttered, looking down at me. I held my finger to my lips and pointed at the ogres.

Will nodded and picked up his sword, and in turn kicked the other bandits back to their senses, making sure to keep them quiet. I untied the ponies, hoping they wouldn't make any noises. They must have read my eyes because they even trotted quietly. I handed the reins over to Will and mounted my own. Will, Daggers and Top followed. And together we moved slowly away from the sleeping ogres. They snored loudly, not noticing our departure, and dreamt of the fabulous feast I would bring them.

~*~*~

As soon as we were out of the ogres earshot, Will let out a holler.

"That was incredible! Where did you learn to do that?"

To my dismay, I blushed. But I refused to look like a ninny now and forced a smile.

"I have encountered more ogres than I would like to admit."

"May I live a thousand years and never eat again," said Top in his amazement. The bandits were all looking at me with such interest in my tale, I decided to go on.

I told them of finishing school and how I had run away, finding myself not long after my journey had started in the clutches of SEEf and eight of his ogres. 

"What 'appened then?" asked Daggers.

"Once all of my parts were claimed, I decided to imitate their slithery talk and managed to make them go to sleep. Just in time too, SEEf was ready to bite into my leg."

"So you snuck away then?" asked Bronk. I shook my head.

"Char was on a campaign to hunt ogres at the time," I explained, "he and his knights found me and managed to bind the ogres with my help. And then I finished my journey."

Will had been sitting in silence, taking in what I had said. 

"Some would consider that a tall tale," he said finally," of course, not many people have encountered ogres and lived to tell about it. I believe ya El."

I smiled.

We continued through the forest and eventually found the road. It was empty secluded, and so narrow that we had to ride our ponies in a line of five. And so our journey continued for many miles.

*Yeah, yeah. I know I'm just zipping through this story, one conflict to another, but I'm as anxious to get to the end as you are. It's really good (or I think so at least). Send me reviews!*


	7. The Tribe of Emen

Ahh, suspense. I love it! Oh, sorry, anyway…This should be the second to last of my installment of the story. This is the exciting (and my favorite) part! I shall make it as long as I possibly can.

Disclaimer: Screw disclaimers!

There was a knight of noble blood

Sir Taylor was his name!

And in the sight of his enemies,

he was tall and proud.

He wooed a lass that had his heart,

but her love was not shared,

so Sir Taylor shall wonder this lonely earth,

to find his true love

The last verse of the song was a sad one, and Will sang it as though it had happened to him. 

Surprisingly I thought of Char. I worried for him. Had he been able to get past Cyrin's knights that guarded Aoden's borders? Char was clever and so were his knights, but I worried still, and it must have shown on my face. Will had taken notice.

"Something troubling you?" Will slowed his pony so that it trotted next to mine.

"I'm fine," I replied. There was an awkward silence, but I didn't speak. What a fool I would seem to pour out my qualms now, after all we had been through. Will remained silent as well.

Then he nodded and trotted back up to the lead again. The entire band was silent now, only Top's soft humming and the whistling of the wind in the night's sky could be heard. 

The stars and the moon were shining so brightly that everything glowed with a soft white light. There were no clouds in the sky and the moon was not nearly overhead, it must have been ten o'clock by now. My reunion with Char was only a day away, and my heart beat fast at the very thought of it.

After some time I began to notice an orange glow behind a large hill in the distance. I trotted up to Will and pointed it out to him. He halted his pony. Changing its course and bringing us into the woods nearby. There he stopped.

"I'm going to make sure everything is alright," he said, "stay here."

"No," I protested, "I'm coming with you." I couldn't stand being treated as though I was a valuable painting, royalty or no. I had shown the same stubbornness with Char when we were first married and he had to travel. But it had delighted him when I came along, not so with Will.

"El," said Will, looking at me sternly, "for all we know it could be King Cyrin's camp. It would be best if you stayed here."

I stared at him and he stared back. Finally he won and I grumbled, sitting down on a rock.

Men!

Will unsheathed his sword and began walking towards the glow. It was some distance away, and we watched until he disappeared behind the hill. 

"What if he don't come back?" asked Daggers, uneasy.

"Then we shall have to find a way around," I said slowly creeping out from behind the trees.

"We ain't gonna leave Will behind," said Bronk, "I'd rather die than go on without him."

I turned towards the group, "I understand your loyalty, but if Will doesn't come back and we go in to save him, it would be the end of us all." I turned back and slowly walked out of the forest, going in for a closer look. The bandits just stood there with the ponies and watched me, not sure whether to make me come back (even if I am royalty) or come out with me. Either way I did not care.

If the light was another band of ogres, I would have to save him again. Will would love that. I had rescued him enough times for him to be thoroughly annoyed with me now. Perhaps men do not think it fitting when it is themselves needing  to be rescued. But nevertheless I crept slowly up the hill, the forest and bandits far behind me now. I watched.

There was the unmistakable figure of Will, standing in what appeared to be a rather large camp. He seemed to be talking with another man, who suddenly embraced him. I muffled a surprised laugh and turned to beckon the bandits to come. I turned back to walk down to the village and they followed with the ponies.

Soon I came to a field of tall grass that came up to my waist. It was all that separated us from the camp, so I continued to push my way through. I could now make out Will's face, he was smiling. Then remembering that he had left a princess and three friends behind in a forest, he turned to go back, until he spotted me.

By this time I was halfway through the field of tall grass. But before I could make it to the camp, someone seized me from behind and put a knife to my throat. I froze instantly. Had Cyrin found me? The man must have been hiding in the grass.

"State your business, wench!" he growled in a gruff voice. I looked back to the bandits and found that they had also been caught.

Suddenly Will was at my side, and I could feel the knife being lowered away from my throat.

"The lass and the three men over there are with me," he said, his sword remained sheathed. The man who had grabbed me must have belonged to the camp. A guard.

"My apologies," said the man, his voice softer now. His clothes were woven with intricate patterns of blue and red, on his face I noticed a red beard. Peculiar. 

I nodded to him and then looked questioningly at Will, who smiled. I should have slapped him again.

By this time the other bandits had caught up with us. The guards who had caught them also wore red and blue tunics, those with long hair had beads in them. Some had red beards while others had blue. One man even had dark blue hair with a red beard. Each of them held a bow in their right hand.

Will led us back to the camp, not answering my confused expressions. The camp was one row of several large tents, all blue, circling a huge bonfire.

There were people everywhere. Women carried food, while some men chopped wood to throw into the fire. I saw three girls run past me, all had a head of dark blue hair. Each was wearing a dress of the same deep blue color, decorated with elaborate designs of white. Two women who were nearby were weaving a rug of brown and red. One of the women had a long red dress, but her hair was blue. The other also had a dress of red, but her hair was the same color. All of the men, women and children had ribbons and beads woven into their hair. To me they resembled Christmas packages.

"Where are we?" I finally asked. All the people who passed by us stared, but they all smiled broadly.

"You are in the Tribe of Emen," replied a voice from behind me. 

We all turned to face an old man, shorter than myself. He wore a long robe of blue with red designs. His hair was white, not colored like the rest of the camp, though blue beads hung from his hair that went down to his shoulders. He looked like he was past his fifties judging by his sagging face and the staff that he leaned on. From his staff, that was a foot taller than he, hung several blue beads.  His face was now wider with a smile. A girl of my age accompanied him, she was completely submersed in red. From her long wavy hair to her shoes. She winked at me, reminding me of Areida.

"I am Emen," said the old man.

Will introduced me, to my surprise, as the Princess Ella. I squeezed his arm.

"Do not worry," Emen reassured me, "our allegiance lies with no ruler. Our world is our own."

I curtsied and the rest of the bandits bowed. Emen nodded in return. The girl did nothing but smile at me and the bandits.

Will smiled and turned to me, "This is the place of my birth. I belong to this tribe, though I left it long ago."

It was a lot to take in, but I looked Will over. He did resemble the men of the tribe, with his long dark hair that fell on his shoulders. Even his clothes resembled that of the rest of the men, though he wore no blue or red.

"What you doin'?" asked Bronk, apparently not affected by this strange culture. Perhaps it was only strange to me.

"We are holding our monthly festival," said Emen, he winked at me, "You seemed to have arrived at the right time."

Emen then walked over to a raised platform and climbed to the top, the red girl helping him up the steps. The entire camp suddenly quieted and listened to what their chief had to stay.

"We have important guests for our festival this month," he announced, then gestured towards us, "our long lost son William of Orlin's house, along with his friends." The crowd cheered and clapped at the announcement. Apparently Will had been greatly missed. Then Emen motioned for me to come up onto the platform, which I did. 

"And the most important of all, the Princess Ella of Kyrria."

Surprised chatter waved through the large crowd. Then all began to cheer and clap, some of the children scrambled up front to get a better view. I hated to have such a fuss be made over me, but all I could do was smile shyly.

"Let us greet them and invite them to join us for our festival," said Emen. He voice was surprisingly loud for a man of his age. But one must have a loud voice when one is a chief.

"Hakai!" the men and women cheered. It was a language that I had never before heard of. A welcome, I decided.

We returned to the ground and the people resumed their preparations. The red girl approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I was silly not to introduce myself, my name is Kara," She smiled, leading me away from Will and the rest, "if you are to join in the festival, you should look it."

I thought of my hair colored red and nervously I fingered it, Kara laughed.

"You needn't worry about your hair, the dying process takes an entire day, and your hair would never be the its original color ever again." She led me into one of the tents. Inside the tent was decorated with stars that hung from the ceiling, and there were several large jars full of a thick red and blue liquid. The smell was not so pleasant.

"This is the women's preparation tent," Kara told me, I sat down in a blue chair and she walked over to a table, gathering beads. In the candlelight I noticed small crystals lined the bottom of her eyes, they glittered. Her hair was wavy and cascaded down to her waist. She wore it loosely with only a few blue ribbons tied in her hair. I liked her immediately.

"My grandfather is Emen," she told me, proceeding to place beads in my hair.

"I have never before heard of this tribe," I said to her.

"I'm not surprised, we travel often and keep to ourselves, only stopping in towns to buy food. We have camped in Kyrria before, but we mostly like to stay in Aoden though. Cyrin doesn't bother us."

We continued to talk while Kara did my hair. I told her of Char and Kyrria, while she told me of the Tribe and of their travels. She even shared with me the story of her first hair dying at age seven, when she couldn't decide whether to dye her hair red or blue. And when they began to dip her hair into the blue vat, she quickly changed her mind and had it dyed red instead. I laughed and looked at her hair, sure enough, three inches at the bottom her hair was a very dark red, where the blue had mixed in. She gave me a quirky look.

"Every tribe member has their hair dyed every three years, beginning on their seventh birthday. We have to spend all day lying on that table while our hair soaks," she pointed to one that was next to the vats of blue and red dye, "it's incredibly tedious and uncomfortable. But you're allowed to stop the process when you turn sixty." She finished and I stood. She handed me a blue dress.

By the time she left the tent so I could dress in private we had already become good friends. 

~*~*~

I emerged from the tent. The dress I wore was a simple dark blue, with white designs along the bottom. A blue cloth belt hung from my waist, and my sleeves nearly covered my entire hand. I noticed Will leaning against a post, smiling at me. He too was dressed up in a blue doublet and pants with boots as tall as his knees. 

"You look like you belong here," he walked over to me and offered me his arm. I took it and we proceeded towards the festival, which was just beginning. Music had begun and some people had already started dancing.

Will left me to talk with some of the men, and for a while I stood there and watched the dancing. The music was fast paced and the people whirled around the fire. I clapped along with the other observers. I noticed Kara dancing with a young man. He twirled her and lifted her into the air, she beamed. There were so many steps to the dance that I knew I would never be able to learn them, and the tribes people performed them perfectly. The drums beat faster and faster until some of the dancers fell over with dizziness, ending the dance. I laughed and clapped along with the others, even the balls that I had attended were never as entertaining as this was. 

All the people stopped to rest and chattered happily with each other. I stood alone and looked around. Kara was surrounded by potential dancing partners, I wasn't surprised. She was very attractive. I saw Bronk by a long table cluttered with food. Top joined him, smiling happily at the feast before him. I saw Daggers off to the side talking to a girl who had a long sword tied to her side and Will was nowhere to be seen, probably off seeing his family. 

Several lads asked me to dance, but I declined. I knew I would make a fool of myself if I tried to repeat the complex steps of the rapid dances. Kara walked over to me, leaving behind a group of her admirers.

"Do you intend to stand here all the while?" She asked me, cocking her head to one side.

"Most likely," I replied, "no one here needs to see a royal disgrace herself."

"It doesn't take long to learn the steps," said Kara, "you just need to go with it. Your feet will know what to do."

"I agree," said a voice from behind me. I turned and saw Will, smirking as usual. He took my hand and led me to the ring around the bonfire, I couldn't resist with the people watching no matter how much I wanted to. The musicians were preparing to start another dance. I braced myself for embarrassment.

Will placed both of his hands on my waist, instructing me to hold on to his arms. I did so and the dance began. Will lifted me into the air and set me back down, twirling me. The music was not as fast as it was before, but I still fumbled with the steps. At this point I didn't care, I was having too much fun. Will and I linked arms and then with others, working our way around the bonfire until we got back to each other. I could here laughter everywhere, including my own.

The dance lasted for several minutes and finally stopped. Both of us breathless, Will and I laughed. 

"Thanks Will," I said and returned to being one of the observers. I noticed a small space between two tents in which there were several cushions laid on the ground. I sat down on one and continued to watch the dance. 

***I know I said that this was second to last, but I lied. I think we're looking at four more chapters here. Since you people hate scrolling down so much I'm going to turn this part into two chapters. Enjoy.***


	8. Will's mistake

The tribe scene continued…..

Will was now dancing with Kara as I watched from my cushion on the ground. They performed the steps perfectly together. I noticed a man off to the side of the camp, surrounded by children. He must have been a storyteller, because he was waving his arms in the air and making silly noises. The children laughed and clapped.

The dance ended and it looked as though the musicians were taking a rest. Will walked over to where I was and sat down on a cushion next to me. I smiled.

"It must be a great comfort to see your family again," I said. Will nodded.

"My father Orlin is here, and so are two of my brothers. I have not seen them in a long time."

"Why did you leave?"

Will scratched the back of his head, "I…uhhh…well..." I looked at him.

"What, Will?"

"Well…I was competing at an archers competition, despite my father's wishes, and Cyrin had taken notice of my skill. Or perhaps it was my blue hair." He fingered his hair and chuckled. I noticed for the first time that it was slightly tinted blue, though it had faded back to most of its natural color.

"He offered me a job, and to my shame I took it. I haven't seen my family since," said Will uncomfortably, disliking the subject.

"What did your mother think?" I asked.

"My mother died when I was ten," he said, "I was raised by my father and my brothers." I could see some hurt in his eyes, I knew how he felt.

"My mother is also dead," I told him, "we were both ill, but I got better and she didn't. She died when I was fifteen."

"I'm sorry," said Will in a remorseful voice, "sometimes you can forget that even royalty goes through the same hardships as the rest of us."

That startled me. Will had thought this entire time that I had always been royalty. I would correct him, I had nothing to hide.

"I have not been a princess all my life."

"No?" Will looked at me funny, as if I were telling a joke.

"No. I'm only the daughter of a merchant, Sir Peter of Frell."

"I've learned to believe your stories, El," said Will, leaning back, "but royals marry royals, everyone knows that."

I decided that I disliked being called a royal, "Char could have been a stable boy for all I cared. We were great friends before we married."

I continued to tell Will of my life with the curse, this he knew to be true. I told him of being sent away to finishing school, running away, the elves, the ogres, and the giants. I talked about my friendship with Areida, father's scheme to marry me off so we could be rich, his marriage to Dame Olga, Hattie's mother, and of how I was forced to be a servant in her house while father was away. Will listened sincerely, taking in all that I said. I even told him of Mandy, Apple, and Lucinda.

When I finished, Will whistled and sat up.

"I've been through enough hardships to last me a lifetime," I said. Will looked into my eyes, searching for the slightest hint that I was lying. I wished that he would trust me for once.

"Quite a story, El, but I don't know what to think."

I became angry, did I seem like such a liar? If he didn't believe me than that was his choice, but why wouldn't he trust me? To angry to say anything, I crossed my arms and turned away from him, dismissing. 

But something happened then that I did not expect. Will placed both of his hands on my shoulders, turning me around. I was about to reprimand him when he stopped my words with a kiss. 

Instantly I recoiled, breaking away from him. I stood and Will looked at me as if I was the one who had done something wrong. I stood and backed away. 

"El….wait."

I didn't answer, I only turned and ran from the camp through the grass field. I needed to think. 

Up the hill I climbed and sat down. The camp was below glowing orange from the fire, and the moon shined high over my head. It lit the fields around me and I could see the silvery tips of the forest trees in the distance. Had I not been pressed with such circumstances, I would have been awed by the beauty of my silvery surroundings. I looked up at the moon for a while.

"El?" I heard Will behind me. I turned and stood.

"Why did you do that?" I questioned.

"Ella," he rubbed the back of his neck, searching for words," I…I think I love you."

I shook my head in disbelief, "No. No, Will, I won't let you do that."

"There's nothing you can do about it El. I've fought with myself over this for a long time, but I keep coming back to this. I can't change my mind, no matter how hard I try." 

He took a step towards me, but I took a step back. He halted.

"Will," I said, trying to ease his tension, "I love Char. I always will." I failed.

Will sat down on the grass, holding his head in his hands.

"You can do anything El. You know every language, you tame ogres, you're brave. You have no idea what an admirable thing that is. What does that prince of yours have that I don't?"

A classic example of jealousy, but it had never occurred to me that something like that would happen over me.

I sat down next to him, "It was kind and good of you to rescue me from Cyrin's castle, but all I ever thought of you as was a good friend, nothing more." I thought of the harsh reality that my words must have brought him, but I could not say it any easier. I put my hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off, angry now.

"You cannot kiss me like that and expect me to love you in return," I told him, "I'm married."

"I couldn't keep it in any longer. I had watched you while you talk in Elfian, as if you were an elf yourself, then you rescued me and the others from the ogres. And then tonight, when you danced with me, I have never felt like this before."

I forced back tears, how could I change his mind? I couldn't. Why did all of this happen now?

"Will," I said, "I think that maybe we shouldn't speak to each other for a while, I can't cope with this now."

Will looked as though I had struck him across the face again, but he stood and walked down the hill towards the camp. Not looking back. I looked up at the sky, wishing that Char was here now. I returned to the camp.

~*~*~

I was shown into a tent that was made up to be occupied by only me. There was a bed with a red quilt and a small lamp burning on a stool. My clothes were laid neatly on a seat off to my right, and my magic book as on top. I picked it up and sat in my bed, hoping to read something by Char to comfort me. I turned the first page to a letter addressed to Hattie from King Cyrin himself.

Lady Hattie,

            This was not part of the plans! You informed me that the princess would not be able to escape my dungeons, but that has proved to wrong. She has escaped and taken with her my best archer and three others! If she returns to Kyrria before Prince Charmont can respond to my demands than I shall see to it that your head is taken off for your impertinence! 

                                                His Royal Highness,

                                                            King Cyrin of Aoden

The letter seemed like nothing more than to scare Hattie out of her wits. Perhaps Cyrin needed to blow off some steam and put the blame on someone other than himself.

The second page was an illustration of Hattie in her manor, pulling off her wig and wailing. On the table beside her was a letter. Obviously the one that I had just read. Despite my situation I began to giggle.

 I turned the page to find another illustration of Char. He was astride his horse, riding with five knights. Among them I saw the familiar faces of Sir Bert and Sir Stephen. He had received my letter! 

I traced Char's outline and wished for tomorrow to come. So much had happened in the last hour and all I could think of was Char. I could still feel Will's kiss on my lips and instinctively I wiped my mouth. What was I going to do?

I climbed into my bed and ordered my mind to wake up at dawn. Will and I would settle this whole thing by tomorrow, though I knew that this was not just a simple matter that we could solve just with a conversation.

*You like? Quite a twist isn't it? Send me reviews, I love 'em!*


	9. Our Reunion....and the battle

A/N: This should be the second to last chapter….I swear! The tribe is a really cool culture isn't it? Yep, I was pretty proud of myself.

I am so happy you guys like my story! Hmmm….perhaps I'll have Namian grow up and have a little adventure of his own. Let me know if I should. This last chapter gets a bit serious, but it gets better in the epilogue, I promise! This is the longest chapter of my story, so I apologize ahead of time if that screws anyone's computer up.

Well, without further ado…..

I opened my eyes the next morning to Kara gently shaking me, a soft smile on her face. Her bright red hair was pulled up away from her face. But instead of the matching dress that she had worn last night, today she wore a simple white day gown. 

"You had a long night last night I see," said Kara, pulling back the opening of the tent to let some sunlight in. Outside I could see the tribes people going about their daily activities. Today they wore all sorts of colors, from dark green to yellow to purple. The only hint that last night's festival had occurred was the red and blue heads of hair that wandered by. 

"What do you mean?" I asked sleepily. Pulling back the covers and sitting up, stretching.

"It's almost nine o'clock," said Kara handing me my green elfian dress and a comb for my hair.

Nine o'clock! Char could be at the border waiting for me by now. Kara closed the opening so that I could dress quickly, helping me when I fumbled with the buttons.

"I was quite surprised though," said Kara, buttoning the back of my dress, "Your friends looked as though they would die of exhaustion when they left at six this morning."

I turned rapidly and looked at her, "They left?"

Kara looked at me skeptically, "Will took those friends of his and left this morning. He left your pony behind though, so you could complete your voyage."

Will had left me alone? I could understand his anger at me for last night, but I could be recaptured if I made the rest of the trip by myself. Is that what he expected?

No. No matter what had happened last night Will would never do something like that. 

"How do I know where to go?"

"Will told me to tell you to keep on the road for four or five miles," Kara drew an imaginary map in the air with her index finger, "when you come to another road that intersects the travelers road, that's the mail-carriers route. It'll take you straight to the borders of Kyrria." She looked quite pleased with herself when she finished, remembering everything that Will had told her.

"Did he say anything else?" I asked,  though I knew the reason for his departure.

Kara looked up, thinking, "Hmmm, he did say you would know the cause for his leaving. And that there were no hard feelings."

No hard feelings? Sure. I let Kara finish buttoning up my dress. Then I gathered my things, put on my cape, and exited my tent.

Not far away was Emen, who saw me and greeted me.

"Hakai," he called, using his staff to support him as he walked over. He wore simple brown robes.

"I must go," I told him, smiling, "you have been more than kind."

Emen smiled back, " Daten menkent, it means 'safe journey' in my language."

I had been meaning to ask him about the language, but I decided not to. I turned to Kara and hugged her. She seemed surprised at first, being hugged by royalty, but then she laughed and hugged me back. By the time I let go of her, I noticed that the entire tribe had collected to see me off. All of the children were gathered in front.

I waved to them, "The next time you are in Kyrria, come to Frell and visit me. Char—Prince Charmont and I would be delighted to have you all as our guests." Much excitement arose.

"We shall certainly keep the offer in mind," said Emen. He handed me the reins to my pony, which another one of the tribesmen had brought over from the stables.

 I mounted my pony, waving again to the people, who waved back. Kara smiled.

"Write to me," I mouthed to her, and she nodded with a broad smile on her face. 

I spurred my pony and exited the village, this time I was all alone.

~*~*~

I rode far away from the tribe on Stephan, the name I had decided to give my dependable and loyal pony. After a certain talkative knight that I knew.

"At least _you_ won't abandon me," I told him. Stephan shook his mane and whinnied softly, I scratched behind his ear. Will must have been several miles away by now. I wondered what he would do to earn a living, since Cyrin certainly wouldn't even look at him without so much as having him and the others heads taken off. I silently wished to myself that Will and the others would be alright and would not run into Cyrin and his knights along the way.

The village was far out of sight now, and I continued down the rode with Stephan. I remained alert and weary of my surroundings. There were tall wheat fields that rose above my head on either side of the road, and my eyes scanned the endless sea of wheat for any form that might jump out and grab me. But I saw and heard nothing except for the rustling of the wind.

Once, another traveler passed by me on the road. I pulled the hood of my cape low over my face and looked down at the road. He might not have recognized me, but then again I was not aware of how desperate Cyrin was. The traveler did see me but recognized me as nothing more than a lady, and he tipped his hat and murmured, "Milady."  Passing by me to continue on his course. I breathed a sigh of relief. 

It didn't take more than an hour and a half before we passed the wheat fields and came to the intersection on the road. The mail route was much wider than my road, but I couldn't see a single soul in both directions. A battered and beaten sign that seemed most unwelcome in Aoden sat in the middle of the crossroads and read simply "Kyrria". It pointed to the left, this was the direction in which I steered Stephan. 

The road led to a forest that both Kyrria and Aoden shared. Little sun shined inside it but there was just enough to see. Stephan whinnied nervously and even at times tried to turn around. I didn't blame him, the forest reminded me of a haunted wood that I had read about in a book once, complete with creaking noises and the occasional squawk from a raven high overhead. But I pushed Stephan on, looking far ahead for any signs of Char or the knights. Occasionally I would come to a darker part of the wood and spur Stephan to go faster, he didn't mind in the least.

Finally we passed by a sign that read "Kyrria: 1 mile". Excitedly I pushed Stephan to go faster, but being the lazy pony that he was, he decided to go at his own pace. Irritated, I wondered if Mandy had a recipe for pony stew.

~*~*~

Then I saw it, a clearing ahead. There stood six horses lined up in a row. Five knights tended to them. I recognized them as Sir Bert, Sir Stephan, Sir Aubrey, Sir Martin, and Sir John. Our most trusted knights. On a large rock there was perched a young man, his legs were crossed and he rested his head in one hand, the other hand rested on his sword. 

My heart told me to run to him, told me to leave Stephan behind and run as fast as my feet could carry me. But I restrained myself and quietly dismounted, tying Stephan's reins on a nearby branch. Then I walked towards the camp.

As I walked into the clearing, Sir John noticed me first and drew his sword. Then I realized that my hood was still on my head. Gently I lifted it off, revealing my face. Char looked up.

He leaped off of his rock and ran to my outstretched arms. We embraced tightly, my eyes became moist as the familiar warmth of his arms came back to me.

"Oh Ella, I thought I would never see you again," I heard Char whisper as we held each other. I released my tears and cried into his shoulder. Gently he pulled me away and wiped away my tears. Then he kissed me.

I wished that we could have stayed like that forever, but after a while Char pulled away and stood me at arms length, apparently checking me over to make sure that I was whole.

"I'm fine," I told him. I was now, anyway.

"Are you well? Did you face any harm?" asked Char, his voice raised in anger and concern.

"No, I saw Cyrin very little." I wished that I didn't have to talk about this now. I sat down on the large rock and Char joined me.

The knights had stood silently nearby, letting us finish our reunion. Sir Bert stepped forward and bowed to me.

"It's good to see you again Sir Bert," I said. He smiled. Though he was a friend of mine, etiquette kept him at his formal behavior. As with the rest of the knights.

"I'm overjoyed to see you returned safe and sound, majesty," he said, then spoke to Char, "Highness, we had best leave Aoden now, the princess Ella did say in her letter that Cyrin himself was pursuing her."

At the mention of my letter Char looked at me, "Ella, you said that you had escaped with the help of some companions. Where are they?"

How could I tell him and avoid revealing what had happened last night? "They couldn't continue with me this morning." Silently I wished that Char wouldn't push it any further. 

To my relief, he didn't. Standing to address the knights, he said, "We shall leave soon, but first we must prepare the horses and clean up camp." The knights nodded set out to obey the direction, cleaning up their fire and making the camp look as though no one had been there.

Char sat down with me again, stroking my hair. Oh, how I had missed him. He looked more handsome than ever.

I sighed deeply. "This has been the worst week of my life," I finally said. Char laughed, surprised at my breaking the silence. Then he stood to help the knights with the cleaning. 

I decided to help as well, picking up food and packing what was still edible back into a sack. It was obvious that Char and the knights had been waiting here for quite some time. We were nearly finished and ready to leave, until I heard a cry from one of the knights.

"Your Highness!" Sir Aubrey yelped. We all turned to see Sir Aubrey as stiff as a tree. Another knight dressed in black armor had crept up behind him and placed his sword against Aubrey's throat, holding him by the hair.

Char was standing in the middle of the camp and drew his sword. The other knights began to follow suit, until swords were against their throats as well. Char spun around to protect me, but one of the black knights already held my arm and positioned his blade across my neck. He halted, the only one without a captor. We were surrounded.

 Then King Cyrin emerged from behind the trees, riding a great black horse.

He looked at me and grinned maliciously, "You proved to be an easy prey to follow." He laughed. 

My face burned with rage. He had known where I was the entire time! And I had led him to his real target, Char.

"You monster," I glared at him. He merely grinned wider and shook his head mockingly, making a _tsk, tsk, tsk_ sound.

"You are hardly in the position to be throwing insults now, highness. We merely did not want you to fall into bad company." 

"Bad company? Ogres are better company than you." 

"Ella…" Char cautioned. I told myself to be silent before I had us all killed.

My knight laughed, "Give the word, your majesty, I'll show you the color of her insides." 

Pig.

Cyrin and the rest of his knights laughed. Char took a step in my direction, a natural instinct, but the edge of the sharp blade pressed even harder and I flinched. He stopped.

"It appears that you are in a bit of a sticky situation, your highness," Cyrin said to Char as he dismounted his horse.

Char remained calm. Turning to Cyrin, he held his sword steady in front of him. A challenge. 

"You have kidnapped my wife and a daughter of Kyrria," he said, "your actions shall not go unpunished." 

Cyrin laughed heartily, "You couldn't possibly match my sword, boy."

Char said nothing, he only remained in his stance.

Seeing that Char was quite serious, Cyrin's smile had disappeared now. He drew his sword, which rang when it was pulled out of its sheath. Slowly he circled Char, then suddenly lashed out at him with his blade. Char parried and dodged another swipe. The fight had begun.

I looked back at my captor. The color of his red collar told me that he was the captain of the guards. If Cyrin died than he would certainly have his men finish Char and the rest of us off. I wasn't going to let that happen.

 His blade was still at my throat, but his attention was focused on Cyrin and Char's fight. I took my chance.

Whirling around I struck the man in the face with the back of my arm, stunning him and making him fall. Before he could react, I grabbed his dropped sword and pointed it at him. I could hear the clangs of the blades as they struck against each other behind me.

"Tell your men to drop their weapons now!" I told him, pressing the tip of the blade to his throat. Still stunned, he tried to get up, but I pressed my boot down on his left shoulder to force him back down. The tip of the blade was pressed harder. Realizing that he couldn't get out of his position, and obviously fearing for his own life, he motioned for the other guards to drop their swords. They obeyed, and Char's knights instantly drew their swords and pointed them at their captors. Who was in a sticky situation now?

I forced the captain to walk over towards Sir Bert and the other knights, then stood with the blade in its same position. I watched the fight but kept my eye on the captain for any means of an escape.

Char was a fine swordsman, but he had definitely met his match with Cyrin. The King would swipe his sword at Char's stomach, forcing Char to roll on the ground to dodge the blow. Several times this would happen and Cyrin would gain the upper hand. But Char would repel the attacks and make a lunge himself, then gaining the advantage. Cyrin seemed very surprised, this young prince was not as weak as he had thought. But he kept to his fighting strategy, using all of his power trying to split Char in two, even though Char would twist away every time. And that was the pattern of the fight, Cyrin's strength against Char's cunning. A minute passed like an hour.

I noticed some rope on one of the horses nearby. Keeping and eye on the captain, I lifted the rope off of the horse.

"Hold your hands out," I commanded. He obeyed quickly, verifying himself as a spineless leader. I tied his hands together, using a special knot that Mandy had shown me. It would be impossible for him to free his hands now.

The other knights caught on and did the same while I tied my knight to a low but large tree branch, using the same knot. The knight tugged at the rope, but the knot held fast. 

Then I heard Char cry out.

I turned and saw Char fall to his knees, clutching his stomach in pain. Cyrin had managed to give Char a deep wound. Any moment now and he would finish Char off! 

With an evil smirk on his face, Cyrin raised his sword.

Before any of the knights could react, I ran as fast as I could towards the area between Cyrin and Char. Using my knight's sword, I held it up and took the full power of Cyrin's strike. The force of it nearly reeled me backwards, but I stood my ground. I was now in between Char and Cyrin. 

Cyrin stepped back in surprise at my sudden appearance, since he had expected to win then and there. But he quickly regained his composure. Panic seized me when I realized that I had never before been in a sword fight, but I managed to hide my fear from Cyrin.

"Move!" Commanded Cyrin. There was enough fury in his voice to show that he meant it. But I grew roots, nothing could move me.

"Ella, don't…save yourself…" Char started, but then he clutched his injury with both arms, writhing in pain.

Cyrin's anger showed through now, his gripped the haft of his sword even tighter.

"I have spared you and your child, but your prince shall not leave these grounds alive! Kyrria will be mine!" His eyes widened, giving him the look of what he truly was, a madman. The knights tried to help me, but their prisoners began to resist them and were trying to escape. Sir Stephan looked at me helplessly as he fought off his prisoner who had regained his sword.

"You couldn't drag me away," I said, holding my sword in front of me as I had seen Char do earlier. If I was killed, at least that would give the knights enough time to stop Cyrin from killing Char as well. He was all that mattered.

"Oh, I don't intend to drag you away," said Cyrin, now grinning evilly. 

"No!" said Char, struggling to his feet, "Your fight is with me…let her go." He tried to stand, using his sword for support. I could feel the awful pain that ran through him as he tried to pull me behind him. I couldn't decide on whether to help him or to protect him from Cyrin.

I didn't have to. In one powerful and swift move, Cyrin cut the back of my hand and knocked away my sword. Some protection I had provided! Char had lifted his sword to protect me, but fell to the ground. Cyrin now erupted in laughter, which rang throughout the woods. I couldn't move. 

Then everything went into slow motion. Cradling my wounded hand, I looked back on impulse at Char. He now lay on his back, unconscious, his blood staining the ground. A tear ran down my cheek as I took my last glimpse of him, hoping with all that was in me that he would not join my fate.

Cyrin held up his sword again, this time to deliver my deathblow. I closed my eyes and braced myself.

But no strike came, only a loud _ping_! I opened my eyes to see Cyrin's sword fly from his raised hand and fall to the ground. We all looked over to the source of the noise.

There stood Will, in his raised right hand he held a bow. He pulled out another arrow. Bronk, Top, and Daggers stood behind him.

"Will?" I stood there, motionless.

"Don't move!" He yelled at Cyrin. My heart flew, Char would live. I would live. I glanced over to Cyrin's fallen sword. It only lay a few feet away from me.

Cyrin lowered his arm and glared at Will, "I should have known, you traitor."

"You knew nothing," said Will, walking towards him, "it was your own endeavors that brought you to this." He nodded to me but kept his eyes on Cyrin, who was now slowly backing away, conveniently towards his fallen sword.

"Take another step and it'll be your last," shouted Will. 

Too late. Cyrin dove for his sword and then turned to me and Char, trying for one last attempt, but Will released his arrow and sent it straight through Cyrin's heart. 

The King of Aoden fell over, dead. 

~*~*~

I tore off a large section of my cape and wrapped it around Char's wound to stop the bleeding. He flinched in pain, but at least he was still alive. Will and the bandits helped our knights tie the black knights to the saddles of their horses, using the special knot that I had demonstrated for them. When they had all been tightly secured, Will and the others smacked the horses into a gallop, all but the weakling captain. Will addressed him.

"Go tell the chief advisors that the King is dead." 

With that, Will slapped the captain's horse and it dashed off towards the capital city of Ledia. I wondered what the advisors would do since Cyrin had no heir. He didn't even have a distant relative, though I suspected some would appear in a few days.

Will kneeled next to me to examine Char's wound. 

"It's deep, but he'll live. He must have been quite a swordsman if he isn't dead by now," He looked at me, "I'm sorry I left you, El."

"Why did you?"

"For one, I was locating Cyrin's whereabouts. And I think I succeeded. Two, well…it was that other problem that we had been having. I just assumed that you didn't want to see me again."

"I don't think that I was ever so happy to see you in my entire life," I said. Will chuckled. Then he looked at Char.

"Well, we can't move him onto a horse, he'd only fall off. What are we going to do with him?"

"Sir John is a healer, he can revive Char enough so he can ride a horse. Then once we get him to Mandy she'll mend it completely."

"Who's Mandy again?"

"Our cook.."

"Uh huh." Not believing me again.

"..and my fairy godmother."

"Oh."

I called Sir John over to take care of Char. He then gave us a long list of plants to find, and we set out to look for them.

"What is this?" said Top aloud, not sure why he was doing this, "a scavenger 'unt?"

"Just hold your tongue and find the plants," said Will, cutting from the ground a handful of wormgrass. Though there were no actual worms in it, its thick and curly leaves provided its name. Mandy used it sometimes when I was young to heal any cuts I had received while playing. I quickly looked about for any of the other plants on Sir John's list. I found two and hurried back to the camp.

Sir John used his helmet and grinded the plants into a mushy liquid. The smell wafted up to my nose and I began to breathe out of my mouth, it was quite foul. Sir John didn't seem to care, he just took another section of my cape and smeared the goo on it, then replaced Char's old bandage with it.

"It won't heal him completely, only the Lady Mandy can provide medicine for that," said Sir John, standing, "but it'll stop the bleeding and he'll awake in a few hours. I suggest we rest and eat and figure out what to do with his highness over there." He had referred to Cyrin, who still lay on the ground. With all that we had been doing, I had completely forgot about him. Now I wished that we could just leave him and let the forest finish him off. But Will walked over to the large rock and motioned for Bronk to follow.

"Bronk, you mind givin' me a hand?" He pointed to the ground. Bronk then used his huge hand to scoop a large handful of dirt from the ground. The knights caught on and used their helmets to dig the hole that they were creating. I stayed with Char and watched them. In one hour the hole grew bigger and bigger until Will declared it large enough.

After they buried Cyrin, Sir Stephan got out some food and we ate in silence. Until Sir Bert spoke to Will.

"You never did explain yourself," he bit into some dry meat and all of the knights looked at Will. 

"I'm a friend," said Will, he didn't look at me, "just a friend."

The knights nodded their approval of him, then Char began to stir. I dropped my lunch and rushed over to him, kneeling beside him. He tried to open his eyes.

"What…" Char started, then regaining his memory, he tried to sit up, "Where's Ella?"

"I'm here," I told him, taking his hand. Char breathed a sigh of relief, then he looked at Will and the rest.

"What has happened?"

"Cyrin's dead," I said, gently pushing him back down, but he refused.

"I'm fine, it's not so bad anymore," He looked at Sir John, "and I thank you for that Sir John." The knight beamed. Then Char struggled to stand, using me to steady himself. I helped him get to his feet. Though he rested a hand on my shoulder for some support, it seemed that he could hold himself up now.

"I don't suppose one of you could explain what happened," Char looked over to Will and the other bandits, not angry, just slightly confused. Will stepped forward and bowed his head.

"My comrades and I arrived shortly after you received your wound, highness."

"And Cyrin's death, you caused it?"

"Only out of no other choice, majesty," said Will. Char nodded in understanding.

"Highness," Sir Martin spoke, "It would be best if we returned to Frell now, Sir John's medicine may not last the two day journey." Char nodded. 

"You and your companions are invited to return with us if that is your desire, then I may repay you in full for saving Ella's life."

"I thank you highness," said Will, "but all I wish to do now is return to my family." 

I thought of how I would miss Will, but then, things would be better this way. Will could return to his tribe and would be welcomed with open arms, as we had been last night. But still things didn't feel right between me and him, and Will must have seen it.

"Highness, might I have a word with Ella in private?" Char looked at me and I nodded that it was alright, then he let go of me and walked over to his horse. The others followed suit. 

Will led me out to the forest a few feet away where no one could hear us.

"Are you alright?"

I shook my head, "I still don't understand why you came back. I thought you hated me."

Will's all-too-familiar smirk returned to his face, "Because I made a promise long ago that I would let no harm come to you. And I held to my vow." 

"And you returning to your tribe, this makes you happy now?"

Will looked over towards the camp at Char, who was speaking with the knights and carefully mounting his horse.

"You got a good husband there, as long as I know that you're happy I won't be unhappy in the least," he grinned, " Who knows, maybe I'll find someone who's unspoken for next time." I laughed and hugged him. He hugged me back, just as a friend. I was happy that he was now content, and my emotions settled finally. Then Will pulled me away and kissed my hand,

"Til next time," he said. With that, he returned to the camp and I followed.

Will waited while I said goodbye to each of the bandits. I hugged Top and Daggers, but Bronk seemed in tears.

"You was the kindest royal I ever knew," he said, sniffing. I laughed and hugged him, telling him that he was welcome in our courts anytime. I turned to Top.

"Will you be sure and take care of my pony?" Top nodded. Stephan would be in good hands.

Then the four bandits mounted their horses, waved to us, and rode off into the wood. Will turning back to salute us. I watched them until they were out of sight and held my tears as I thought of all that I had been through with them, then I felt Char's hand on my shoulder. 

"Come on, let's go home."

*A/N: Whew! I cannot tell you how many times I had to rewrite that ending! Ella gets a knife put to her throat a lot, doesn't she? Oh, well. Did you like it or did you think it was horrid? Let me know what you would have done differently. But this is not the end of the story! Epilogue coming up, this should be good….* 


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

Char healed completely within a month, but there was left a large scar across his stomach. A reminder, he told me. 

Since Cyrin had no heir or any distant relatives, the country of Aoden was reluctantly handed over to Char, since they believed that it was him who had killed Cyrin. Char obliged. But instead of adding on to Kyrria's vastness, he broke it back into the smaller countries that they once were, letting the peoples of each country choose their new king. 

Even though I was safe back at home, there still was one matter to take care of…Hattie. It was because of her that I was kidnapped in the first place. Char was beside himself with anger when I told him of her actions. So he summoned her immediately to the castle.

The throne room was filled with all of the courtiers and most of the nobles of Frell, including Dame Olga and Olive, who stood at some distance away from Char and I. Father stood with his wife and comforted her, but it was obvious to me that he did not care stitch about what happened to Hattie. King Jerrold and Queen Daria sat in their thrones, letting Char and I both handle the matter. Queen Daria held Namian for me while Char and I stood up front, waiting for Hattie's arrival. 

Hattie arrived in a most unglamorous way, being shoved into the room by Sir Stephan and Sir John. All of the courtiers whispered among themselves and Char commanded her to stand in the center of the room, which she did, cowering.

"Lady Hattie," announced Char, "you are charged with treason against the country of Kyrria and for conspiring to kidnap the Princess Ella, do you admit to these charges?"

Hattie looked about her, receiving only hateful glares from the courtiers. She tried hard to smile but failed miserably.

"You're highness, I merely….."

"Yes or no, Lady Hattie?"

"I…" began Hattie, she looked so pitiful standing there I had to use all of my power to keep a straight face, "well…I…umm." 

Char remained serious, but I could tell that he was enjoying making Hattie sweat. I did too.

"Did you or did you not exchange information with the King of Aoden, Kyrria's enemy?"

"I….did."

"Then you admit to your charges?"

For one last attempt to get out of her sticky situation, Hattie stuck her chin in the air, "You're majesty, I am a loyal citizen of Frell. I have done nothing but be a loyal and faithful subject…"

"…While at the same time tormenting the royal family, especially the Princess Ella?"

The court began to laugh, now Hattie burned with both embarrassment and rage. I couldn't help but take pleasure in it. 

"I ask you again, do you admit to the charges?"

There was no way Hattie could talk herself out of this one. She began to twirl nervously at her faux curls, thinking. Then she found her voice, though a shaky one.

"I…uhhh…yes." Chattering filled the room and Dame Olga wailed, dabbing her eyes with a hanky. It was quite a show, until Char held up his hand, then all was silent.

"Lady Hattie, there is only one punishment for treason, and that is death."

Hattie now shook visibly with nervousness. I squeezed Char's hand and looked at him. He nodded to me, though he was not happy about it.

"But, on the insistence of my wife, you shall not face the death penalty." Again more chattering, and wailing. Some murmured their approval, others their disagreement, overall the entire room was surprised. Char waited patiently for the noise to die down. 

"Instead you shall be stripped of your noble title, and are hereby banished from Kyrria. And I am told that you are no longer welcome in Ayortha or any of the five countries that once were a part of Aoden."

Hattie looked as though someone had punched her in the stomach. I was delighted.

Then I left Char and walked down the steps towards Hattie, who cowered on to her knees. I stopped only two feet away from her.

"Have mercy, highness," she squeaked.

"Get up," I commanded. She did so, then I spoke so that only she would hear.

"I want you to live, suffering from the same torment as I once did. I had wanted to end this quarrel between us once and for all, but you did not see it that way," I tilted my head in a kind of mocking, "pity."

Hattie turned towards Dame Olga, who now had stopped crying and stared at her daughter with her mouth open. She had hated me once when she found out that I was poor, would she do the same to her own daughter?

"Mama, please…" Hattie whimpered, but Dame Olga took a step back, acting as if a thief had spoken to her. Father rolled his eyes.

Then I raised my voice for the entire court to hear, "Now I want you to leave my sight, and never return." I wanted to dance with ecstasy. I looked back at Char and grinned, and he smiled back. Hattie started to wail so loud that I thought that I would have to cover my ears, then she ran from the room. My final look of her, a little child fleeing from a punishment.

 The courtiers began to talk loudly amongst themselves now, and I returned back to Char's side. A grin was still on his face.

"Couldn't have done it better myself," he said to me. I laughed and we both returned to the King and Queen. I took Namian in my arms and knew that I had never been happier in my life. 

~*~*~

Two days later I looked in my magic book to find an illustration of Hattie, dressed in servants garb. She was standing in a foreign courtyard of some manor, being instructed by a rather large women. On the floor there sat a bucket full of lye and a scrub brush. That night I laughed myself to sleep.

~*~*~

One week after Hattie's dismissal from the court, I was told there was going to be a celebration held in honor of my return. That night, I searched my wardrobe for a gown to wear but Char came into the room and took my hand.

"No need," he grinned, pulling me out the door. What would the courtiers think when I arrived in my day gown? But as I was pulled out towards the courtyard, I shocked to see that there was no one in it, nor was there anyone in the Great hall. I looked at Char, puzzled, but he just grinned and led me outside the castle towards the menagerie. I could hear drums in the distance, then I gasped with delight at what I saw before me.

In a field next to the menagerie, there was a blazing bonfire. Around it there stood about a hundred people, all with red and blue hair, the tribe of Emen! This time I was the one pulling Char. We both rushed down to the field. Emen walked up to greet me.

"Hakai, your highness," he smiled broadly, "we are all overjoyed at your safe return."

I couldn't speak, Char laughed.

"For once, she is at a loss for words," said Char. I whacked him in the shoulder, and both he and Emen laughed. We all walked towards the celebration, and everyone cheered. Then I saw Will.

His hair was now a dark blue, and I began to chuckle. He smirked, then embraced me. When he let go, he bowed to Char, who returned the gesture. 

"It's good to see you've recovered, sir," said Will, formal now.

"Had it not been for you I might not have been here at all," said Char. Will beamed. The music began to start, and Will asked me for a dance. I obliged.

As we walked over to the dance circle, I looked up at him.

"Blue's a good color on you," I grinned. He laughed.

"I won't let it go to my head."

This dance was much slower than the ones that I had witnessed before. Perhaps they were slowing down for me, but I didn't care, at least I could do the steps. In a way it resembled the Gavotte. Will spun me around and lifted me up in the air, as the others who participated in the dance did.

In the middle of the dance I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned to see Kara, who hugged me. She looked just as she had the night of the festival, red from head to toe. A beautiful red rose.

She grinned, "May I cut in?"

I looked at her and then at Will. He looked at her with much contentment as he took her hand.

"Will? You and Kara?" He nodded, she giggled. This was wonderful! Nothing could have made this moment better.

I was wrong. Behind me I felt someone take my hand, it was Char. He smiled.

The night was filled with much laughter and happiness, and it was then that I knew we would live happily ever after.

THE END

A/N: YES! I'm done! I hope the ending wasn't too corny, I had fun with it. Did you guys like it? Please send me reviews and let me know what you think. Was the ending better than you expected or a complete flop?


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